


I've Known You (on hiatus)

by RykRae



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Gaming, Hurt/Comfort, Low-key smutty but not really, M/M, The mains do get together I swear, sports anime
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-09-26 07:51:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9874316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RykRae/pseuds/RykRae
Summary: Oikawa and Kageyama have always been friends. They play the same video game, text eachother constantly, and are even part of a band together. They've never known that one is the other though.What happens when Oikawa's best friend Iwaizummi takes him on a surprise double date, and he comes to meet that his worst enemy is actually the person he's been crushing on for months.Oikawa looked up from his phone smiling after re reading 909's texts. Iwaizumi smacked Oikawa on the back of the head and glared. "ShittyKawa, they're gonna be here any minute and here you are giggling, I'm gonna punch you!" "Jeez, Iwa-chan, you sure are mean when you're nervous." As Iwaizumi raised his arm to give another hit, he quickly stopped as a gust of wind came in through the now open door. The first who walked in was Mr. Refreshing. Peering over Mr. Refreshing's shoulder, Oikawa saw the arm of a navy blue sweater opening the door from the outside. Oikawa raised an eyebrow, interested in the mystery date iwa-chan had managed to get him. Nervously sliding his way in after Mr. Refreshing, no other than Kageyama Tobio stood infront of him, his hair a perfect mess and cheeks rosy from the wind. "For fucks sake."





	1. A Favor

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So, this is my first fanfic! I don't know if im going to make it a chapter fic yet, but if i do, I think I have a good idea where to lead it.  
> Please excuse the fic if its rough at first. I haven't written anything like this in a long time, but if you give it a bit, I bet It'll be great! Thank you guys for reading, and hopefully you stay!

Exploding sounds and vibrations emitted from the bright mint headphones Oikawa wore. He had just risked both him and his gaming friend 909's life in a last effort to collect some rare items.

"FOX WE ALMOST DIED YOU ASS!” Kageyama laughed.

“I’m sorry nine, but I can’t understand you through your horrible headset!” Oikawa teased.

Kageyama’s laugh slowly died down into a giggle, and he hit Oikawa's character. “Shut up dumbass, or I’ll damage your armor more.”

Oikawa scoffed at his words. “Whatever.”

His smile grew at the grumbling of insults he couldn't make out coming from his headset. Leaning back in his chair, he put his arms behind his head enjoying the achievement notifications emerging on screen. After the award music faded he was about to plan a new mission for the guild when suddenly, a loud slam sounded from outside his room, causing him to panic.

Though he didn't mean for his anxiety to get the best of him, random thoughts started racing through Oikawa's mind.

Was he was about to be robbed? Was he getting swatted? Did the neighbors find out he had been the one to cause the electricity to go out two days ago? His heartbeat started to rise higher and higher, but then he instantly calmed when he heard his best friend screaming from outside his room.

"Yo nine, that was fun, but… Sadly, I have to leave now. I can hear my best friend breaking into my apartment as we speak.”

Kageyama giggled at Oikawa’s tone of voice and his chest tightened at the sound. Although almost every word 909 said was covered by the grain of his horrible headset mic, he’d never get over the pureness of his laugh.

  
Just as Oikawa logged off, Iwaizumi busted in his bedroom whistling through his teeth.

“You know, you could at least knock.” Oikawa said.

“Shut up crappykawa, having a key to your apartment means that I can come in whenever I want.”

Iwaizumi jumped on top of Okinawa’s bed smiling. His best friend had on a denim vest and his favourite hoodie underneath. The hood of it was squashed underneath his arm and he stared at Oikawa grinning. After a a few seconds he seemed to have remembered why he had even came to Oikawa's house in the first place and his facial features grew stern.

“Um… Tooru.”

Hearing his best friend’s serious change of tone, Oikawa instantly tensed. Whenever Iwaizumi used his given name, he knew shit was going to go down. Nervous, Oikawa slowly pulled off his headset and turned to face his best friend.

“Umm... What’s up?” Oikawa bit his lip in worry. Was Iwaisumi okay? He'd been acting weird for the past few weeks. They stopped hanging out as much and he kept getting excuses from Iwaizumi that he was busy or studying for a test.

Iwaizumi rubbed the back of his neck and finally looked up to make eye contact. "I, uh… I have a favor to ask of you.” Oikawa’s eyes widened at the statement, but out of curiosity, leaned forward to respond. “Sure, anything man. Is something wrong?”  
“No, no. Nothing like that.” Iwaizumi said.

Oikawa's shoulders relaxed, thankful nothing was bad as he expected, but he was still slightly nercvous, wondering why Iwa-chan was acting so weird.

“Okay… so… I’m going on a dat-“ Interuppting Iwaizumi, Oikawa instantly perked up and started screaming excitedly.

“Yeah Iwa-Chan! Getting some!“ Oikawa threw his arms into the air, throwing punches at nothing and smiling wide.

Iwaizumi smacked Oikawa in the chest and Oikawa doubled over in his chair, gasping for air. “Shut up! I just need you to do something for me!”

  
Oikawa was in a daze for a while, trying to recover from getting the wind knocked out of him, but a few moments after he sat back up and waited for his question.

“Okay. So, I’m going on a date with another volleyball player to that coffee house, cafe, bar thingy place we saw the other day. It’s by an art studio my date goes to and his name is Suga. Sugawara Koushi in fact. The reason we haven't been hanging out as much is because I've been trying to spend time with him. I know it's real shitty of me to blow you off like that without telling you but I'm sorry and uh. Oh. Um. Oikawa… He um… He was on the karasuno team- and don't freak out! Its all good, we all go to the same university and him and I have a class together. He’s super sweet, and I want to see if we can take this further or not. The thing is… Well… He’s kind of nervous about it, and so am I, so we decided to each take a friend to not only help our nerves, but it would also be a fun time, reminiscing about the high school days and stuff like that.”

Iwaizumi finished his explanation breathing a bit heavy from the quick dialogue. 

  
Oikawa was in complete shock. First at the fact that Iwaizumi, his totally lone wolf best friend, Iwaizumi, wanted to go on a date, then at the fact that it was actually possible for his best friend to ramble that much, then at the fact that he could finally check out that cool café place, then at the biggest fact that his date happened to be a part of one of his least favourite teams he played against in highschool. From there, his mind simply wandered.

 _Karasuno_? Silver hair brushed through Oikawa's mind quickly. Mr. Refreshing right? He smirked at the thought of the boy. He thought about the times he watched Mr. Refreshing join a match and bring the entire team up with his presence, the way he radiated selflessness, trust, and motivation. Not only was Oikawa a bit jealous of him, but he was cute too, he’d give Iwa-chan that. But still.

Karasuno… What if the friend that he brought was another Karasuno member. Oikawa cringed at the thought. Hopefully it would be one of the cute managers. If not… Well, to be honest, Mr. Refreshing would be the only person on the team he’d even consider to date.

_Hmm, maybe the captain though? The silent, strong and trustworthy type?_

“EARTH TO SHITTYKAWA! HERE I AM SPILLING OUT MY FEELINGS AND HERE YOU ARE DAYDREAMING!” Oikawa who had been ripped away from his thoughts held wide eyes at his friend, then giggled at Iwaizumi’s reaction. He must really want to go.

To be honest, he really didn't want to go and see the team who killed his chance at going to nationals his last year of high school... but he owed Iwaizumi a lot. His best friend has done so much crap for him, he could go on a little date for a few hours. Sighing, he paused a second and took his chin in his hand.

He contemplated for about 3 seconds before taking in a slow breath and said “Okay Iwa-chan. I’ll go. But if my date ends up being the red headed pinball or the scary bald man, I will never trust you ever again.” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow but then let out a happy breath suddenly relieved by his friends answer.

“Thanks… Oikawa.” Oikawa leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Anything for the bestie!” He winked.

“Okay, if you don’t stop I’m going to make sure he invites the pinball.” Iwaizumi muttered and closed his eyes. Oikawa smile grew a bit more at his friends sassiness, but then a thought crossed his mind.

“Oh. When’s the date anyways?” He asked

Iwaizumi who made himself comfortable on Oikawa’s bed snapped open his eyes. “Hmm? Oh yeah… OH! It’s tonight!” Iwaizumi suddenly stood and started making his way out the door.

After tripping on Oikawa’s rug and spinning out of the way where a guitar stood, he turned to face Oikawa at the entrance of his room. “Uglykawa, make sure you look good tonight. I’ll be here at 6 and we can take a cab to the cafe from there.”

Before he could even respond, the door shut with a click and Oikawa could hear footsteps leave his apartment quickly.


	2. Eyes Like Space

After cleaning up messy plates, crumbled assignments, and washing and folding dirty athletic wear, Oikawa landed on the couch with a thud. 

He inspected his small apartment. If he were to be completely honest, he hated it here. The area was small, smelled, and the side of town it was placed in was filled with noisy neighbors and druggies. 

At the time he was moving in, he just really wanted to get out of the house as quickly as possible to start tending to himself. But now he was regretting it. Sure, he was on his own now and the place was cheap, but money was equally spent on the rides from the distance from his school and grocery store, causing for rent to hardly be made.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe if he got a roommate? His first thought drifted to his best friend, but even though Iwaizumi and him were close, he knew that living with each other would be something they couldn't handle for too long. Oikawa imagined the spiky haired boy stabbing him during one of his own complaint rants and he shivered at the thought.

Maybe he should try those find a roommate things certain complex's host. That would be a bit exciting... Though he wouldn't want to find that his mystery roommate could potentially be a serial killer and stab him too.

A tick-tock of a clock made Oikawa open his eyes and he glanced up at the doctor who themed clock placed above his T.V.

5:15.

He stood and made his way to the bathroom. He'd have to get ready soon.

After deciding glasses over contacts and styling his hair its signature curl and fluff, he set down the blow dryer and stared into the mirror.

_At least I'm not ugly._

Subconsciously, his mind wandered to 9. He's been wanting to send a picture of himself for a while now. He's never done it though because one, he still wasn't comfortable with random internet friends yet, and two, 9 was even more uncomfortable with the whole internet thing.

9 wasn't just some random gaming nerd though. Through the past few months, they've gotten pretty close. They had a lot in common.

Oikawa though back to when he first met 909. He had heard talk of a new archer. An archer just like him. Oikawa loved archers. They had the entire trust of the guild. Not exactly like the wizards who acted as... Well, the recievers in volleyball. But archers were like setters. They opened up the path for a guild's main set of attackers, and they guided the guild through the fight. He liked that.

He remembered adding 9 on skype. He smiled thinking about the horrible quality of his mic. To be honest, 9 was really weary at first. But after a while Oikawa had broke through the iron walls he had set up. 

Now him and 9 message each other every day. They had similar music taste as well and even decided to write music together. 9 had even supported Oikawa's weird like for extraterrestrials. He loved getting good morning texts and goodnight texts from 9. It wasn't necessarily romantic, but it made Oikawa feel comforted. 

Suddenly a beep of a phone pulled Oikawa away from his thoughts. He expected Iwaizumi to be pushing him to be ready as soon as he got there, but it was the man himself.

 

 **909:** **Hey Fox. I'm going to be busy for the rest of tonight. I just wanted to let you know if you wanted to raid that new boss later, or if you wanted to talk.**

 

Oikawa smiled at the message.

 

**Yahoo, 909! I'm going to be busy tonight too, so don't sweat it!! I'll talk to you tomorrow though, okay?**

 

**909: yeah for sure. I have to study for a test later in the afternoon tomorrow, but in the morning I'm down to chat for a bit**

 

Oikawa smiled again and put down his phone. 

 

After putting on his favourite tan cashmere sweater and slipping on some black slacks, he quickly glanced into the mirror before adding a pair of leather brown chelsea boots, a watch, and a grey peacoat.

Hmm. He looked pretty good. The cafe itself looked like it was a bit more than a regular coffee shop, plus as a date, he needed to be more spiffy than his usual training attire for volleyball. 

Right as Oikawa grabbed his wallet, phone and keys, the doorbell rang once, when he opened it, Iwaizumi stood there. He wore a light blue button up paired with some black jeans and a grey cardigan. 

"Looking spiffy Iwa-chan." Oikawa teased.

"Shut up stupid-kawa, and lets get going."

After a short cab ride they walked into the plaza of a posh looking outdoor co-op named  _Crown Crow_. Oikawa cringed slightly. The name reminded him of one of his worst enemies, Kageyama Tobio. That simple minded king was one of the strongest banes of his existence. 

Thoughts interrupted, Iwaizumi pulled on Oikawa's sleeve and pointed towards a posh looking part of the plaza.  _Eden 'coffee house, brewery, and cafe'_

Oikawa liked the sound of that. And even more the feel of a comforting embrace of warm air rather than the cold sharp pain of the night.

They rushed inside just as the wind began to pick up and were greeted by a spiky haired and golden eyed young man. "Hey, hey, hey, welcome to the cafe!-Oh my gosh did that rhyme, thats amazing! Anyways how many? Is it just ya'll? Would you like a booth or table? How about some drinks from our brewery?!"

"Um." Oikawa said in shock."

"Actually, we're waiting on two more guests." Iwaizumi said in a monotone voice.

"Alright take your time, the name is Kotaro Bokuto, and I'll be your server tonight along with that guy over there!" Bokuto pointed to a tall cat eyed male leaning over the counter, eyeing up a brunette with long, fluttery lashes.

A loud crash suddenly emerged from the far left and surprised by the noise, Bokuto sprang away yelling about mops.

Once Bokuto left, Oikawa felt a bit more at ease. He glanced around the building and concluded that 'cafe' was almost fit to describe this location.

It was a very large space. At the back, high metal tanks rested against the wall, Oikawa concluded that these were most likely filled with beer seeming that this was a brewery. In front of the tanks was a long bar reaching from end to end. On the right and left, bottles of more exquisite alcohol rather than beer decorated the walls. 

Other than a few tables and booths taking up space, it really wasn't claustrophobic at all.

Above their heads a metal walkway traced the perimeter of the room, and large glass windows made up almost the entirety of the walls. It was night, and the area was nicely lit by warm vintage bulbs hanging in the air.

It was nicely decorated too. There were plenty of greenery spread around the area, and the furniture was comfortable and classy. Lots of art was displayed as well, and Oikawa could only deduct that they were created at the nearby art studio. 

Oikawa concluded that he liked it here, even though they had some odd servers running around the area.

As they waited, Oikawa pulled out his phone and scrolled through his and 9's messages. It was a habit now. Whenever he was anxious, or needed a bit of comfort, he'd always refer back to conversations 9 and him had or texted him.

Oikawa heard a huff from his best friend and looked up from his phone smiling after re reading 909's texts.

 

Iwaizumi smacked Oikawa on the back of the head and glared.

"ShittyKawa, they're gonna be here any minute and here you are giggling, I'm gonna punch you!" "Jeez, Iwa-chan, you sure are mean when you're nervous."

As Iwaizumi raised his arm to give another hit, he quickly stopped as a gust of wind came in through the now open door.

The first who walked in was no other than Mr. Refreshing, and refreshing he was.

His silver hair pierced through the dim light, and his golden eyes rang bright and beauteous leaving both Iwaizumi and Oikawa out of breath.

Peering over Mr. Refreshing's shoulder, Oikawa saw the arm of a navy blue sweater opening the door from the outside.

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, interested in the mystery date iwa-chan had managed to get him. Oikawa quickly ran a list of all the members of karasuno through his mind trying to pin point a date he could work with well, but the person who walked in nearly made Oikawa run out as quickly as his heart dropped.

Nervously sliding his way in after Mr. Refreshing, no other than Kageyama Tobio stood infront of him, his hair a perfect mess and cheeks rosy from the wind.

"For fucks sake." Oikawa breathed under his breath.

Kageyama and Oikawa glared at eachother from behind each of their friends. Iwaizumi and Suga were already hitting it off though, totally comfortable and filled with joy. 

Once Iwaizumi realized who had walked in after Suga, he quickly turned to face Oikawa.

"Hey, Oikawa, its alright. You can leave if you want I understand." 

Oikawa broke his death glare with Tobio to make eye contact with his friend. He instantly relaxed realizing that this wasn't a tournament, and that his best friend was finally on his date. But still... This was Tobio. Could he handle this?

He had to.

Iwaizumi was his best friend and he owed this to him. Screw Tobio-Chan. He wouldn't let him hurt the opportunity of Iwa-chan's potential love. 

"It's all good Iwa-Chan!" Oikawa perked. "Tobio-Chan and I can definitely have a good night not just for us, but for our buddies! Isn't that correct Tobio?"

Kageyama was still in a frown, but it was less deep than what he had held when he first made eye contact with Oikawa.

"Y-yes." Kageyama murmured

"Good!" Oikawa exclaimed

Once seated near a corner, the four young men took off their coats and made themselves comfortable.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa sat next to each other on one side, while Kageyama and Suga sat together on the opposite. It was set though, so that suga and iwaizumi sat facing eachother, and kageyama and oikawa were as well.

Iwaizumi and Suga broke the ice first, talking about how they met in the library, and how Suga embarrassingly asked Iwaizumi to help him on a project they had to do.

As they continued their story, Oikawa took the chance to examine Tobio.

Tobio was no longer frowning. To be honest, he looked rather sad, or maybe undecided? His hair was styled nicer than it was in highschool, though it was still a bit long and had to be parted to be out of the way of his eyes.

Speaking of eyes. The sweater Tobio wore really did wonders for his eyes. The navy brought out the dark blue Kageyama owned, and the lights surrounding the table made it seem like galaxies were embedded within them. Oikawa was lost in thought for a while, thinking about the universe and how nice his date loo- wait.

Tobio. Did. Not. Look. Nice.

Oikawa shook his head and sighed. Who was he kidding. He's a narcissist at times, and Iwaizumi called him trash a lot, sure... But he knew he was intelligent and open minded, and he wasn't going to be ignorant. 

He looked good, Kageyama looked good, his best friend is happy. 

He can do this date... He just needed a few drinks first...

 

Oikawa had been telling a story about how he had hit a serve so hard that he broke a kid's nose when Kageyama realized something that wrecked his spirits and if he were dramatic enough, his will to live.

Oikawa had to be Fox. 

To be blunt. He was.

There was no denying.

He knew that it had been a few years since they spoke, and that when he first talked to Fox on skype, he was sure that it wasn't his former teammate and opponent. But now... He wasn't just sure. He knew.

He knew by the way he spoke. His giggle in between every few lines, the same cheesy jokes, the slow inhale of breath before a sentence. He also knew by his change in tone. How he was quick to be humorous, but also how he could grow serious and even intimidating at the right words. 

Kageyama made sure not to speak. He didn't want to even risk the chance of Oikawa figuring it out. 

 _But why?_ Kageyama thought.  _Oh... I don't want to lose Fox._

When Iwaizumi and Oikawa stood to receive their coffee order for the group, Suga took the chance to talk to Kageyama.

"Tobio?" 

Kageyama looked up at his friend. He enjoyed hanging out with Suga, and was super grateful when he asked him to join him on a double date... But now... But now, with Fox- Ugh, Oikawa being here. He didn't feel the joy he expected.

"You know. You can leave if you want. It's all good! I can deal with these two knuckle heads just fine. Plus, I bet Oikawa probably wants to leave too."

Kageyama gazed into Suga's golden eyes and leaned forwards to hug him. 

Suga embraced him back, and Kageyama took this and put it into his strength.

Kageyama pulled back and smiled softly.

"It's all good Suga. It'll be fine. It's a bit odd, but more than anything I'm just tired.  I can stay though. Even though it doesn't seem like it, I'm having a pretty good time."

Suga smiled brightly, and Kageyama's body flooded with warmth at the sight of his happy friend.

When the coffee arrived to the table, Kageyama was so grateful. 

He held the cup in his hands and delicately sipped the rich flavor. After a few quite moments Kageyama smiled softly and looked up with bright eyes.

"This is delicious." 

Everyone at the table glanced up with surprise. It was the first sentence Kageyama had spoke all night, and it was filled with pure honesty and contentedness.

"It really is." Suga said happily. After a delicate sip, he continued, "I really like to drink coffee from here at the art studio Kageyama and I like to visit. You should see some of his work sometime, it really is some of the best I've witnessed."  

Kageyama blushed, and Oikawa raised an eyebrow at the fact that Kageyama made art.

"Are they still open?" Iwaizumi asked.

"They are actually! Would you guys want to go?" Suga said excitedly

"I, um... I think I'd rather stay here. I want to finish this if you don't mind." Kageyama said into his cup .

"Of course!" Suga exclaimed. "Yeah dude, take your time. Oh, everything is on me by the way." Iwaizumi said.

Oikawa looked back and forth between his friend, Suga, and Kageyama through narrowed eyes. Kageyama could tell that Oikawa had a tad too much to drink. His cheeks were bright and his recent actions had been sloppy and labored.

Pulling himself together slightly Oikawa cleared his throat and said, "I'll stay here with Tobio-Chan, you cuties go ahead and have yourself a nice time okay?"

Suga nodded and Iwaizumi nodded in thanks, and left to visit the studio.

Kageyama internally screamed.  _Why? Please leave now. You can leave. Please go away. I can't deal with you right now, please._

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Oikawa stired his coffee and kept stealing glances at Tobio.

After realizing that Oikawa was nowhere ready to depart Kageyama let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and sat back into his chair. He closed his eyes and breathed in the rich scent of coffee, alcohol, and a variety of food. With his eyes closed he even noticed the faint sound of jazz coming from some place in the cafe. 

"Tobio."

Kageyama sat up instantly and met Oikawa's eyes. Oikawa tensed at the harsh reaction and looked back down at his drink before speaking agian.

"I uh... How are you?" Oikawa asked nervously.

One light chuckle left Kageyama's mouth before he responded. "Well, first, I'm a bit tired."

Kageyama wasn't too surprised at how quickly the conversation flowed. He knew Oikawa already. He knew his interests and what the liked to talk about and he already knew the punch line to all of Oikawa's jokes, but he smiled anyways.

Though he already knew, they had much in common. They spoke about music, books, movies, food and volleyball. They spoke about almost everything except for certain things Kageyama had steered away from. Like videogames.

When they were ready to go and left the warm cafe into the cold night, Kageyama grew worried watching Oikawa stumble every few feet.

"Oikawa. Are you sure you can make it home tonight?" 

"Yeah.. Yeah, o-of c-course."

Oikawa's jacket wasn't even on him, but on his arm, and his hair was a mess from drifting off every now and then at the table.

They reached the bus station and Oikawa sat down looking awfully ill in the cold. When he let out a sneeze Kageyama cursed under his breath and stood infront of Oikawa.

"Hey." Kageyama looked around awkwardly for a bit when Oikawa gazed up at him but he continued anyways.

"You're gonna get sick if you stay out here and I doubt that you'll make it home at this time. Plus, even though we're not 'friends' or anything... You... You... You can crash at my place tonight and It'll be easier on all of us."

Oikawa stared up wonderingly at Kageyama and he blushed furiously trying to figure out what he was thinking.

Oikawa cleared his throat a bit before shakily standing and answered softly, "Sure, thanks."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for joining me on another chapter!
> 
> I know i introduce some other characters in the fic that have met the main cast, but just remember that this is a fic, and in this world, they don't know eachother. 
> 
> I'm really excited to see what adventures are in store for this team being created and i hope you guys stick around!


	3. Melodies

The walk to Kageyama's home had been quiet. Oikawa was a bit upset with himself. Did he think that if he had a few too many Iwaizumi would've felt bad and have pardon them? Oikawa could be a baby at times, but in situations like this he was usually composed and thought things well through. Plus, even though he wasn't the biggest fan of Tobio, he was still being a bit of a bother. 

_Why would tobio invite me to his place anyways? It's not like we were fond of eachother..._

Oikawa took a quick glance sideways and looked at Kageyama. His cheeks were bright again from the cold and he darted his tongue out quickly to swipe at his chapped lips and most likely left over coffee. He looked away and sighed. Why did he even decide to say yes? Not only was he used to constantly hating Kageyama, but Kageyama hadn't even said more than a few sentences during their time together so far. 

Oikawa strayed behind a bit trying to distance himself from Kageyama more for clearer thoughts. Kageyama glanced at him through his peripheral vision, but continued walking nevertheless. Oikawa's eyes wandered the city. This part of town was less clustered and loud than where his apartment was. The cafe area wasn't actually that far away from where they were now, but it was quieter here, more peaceful. He liked that.

Suddenly Kageyama came to a halt and Oikawa nearly ran into him tripping a bit and letting out a quick apology. Without a response Kageyama fished his keys out of his pocket and walked up a stoop to a two story brick building. After unlocking the door Oikawa followed Kageyama into a opening with a door a few feet to the left, and a staircase forwards. Kageyama took to the staircase and once both of them reached another door, they walked inside of what seemed to be Kageyama's apartment.

Kageyama instinctively kicked off his shoes and Oikawa did the same. He smiled to himself seeing that Kageyama had on what he noticed were Vincent Van Gogh's starry night patterned socks. After taking a few strides into the living room Kageyama turned to face Oikawa and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Um, I have a guest bedroom you can stay in, and uh, if you prefer, you can stay in the living room as well. Only thing though is that I'm momentarily short of a T.V." 

After Kageyama finished his sentence, Oikawa looked around the apartment. He decided it was very cute. A bit hipsterish if he were to be honest, but he liked that a lot. The walls were white painted brick and a few plants decorated the area. Kageyama was correct in saying that there wasn't a T.V, but a black leather couch placed itself against a wall. To the right of him were two large windows and in the middle of them where a pillar stood, was a bookcase in front of it. In front of one of the windows was an easel with a blank canvas. Right under it, a black supplies bag held a hearty amount of paints and brushes spilling out of it. To the left was a small kitchen. An island counter lay bare except a small box with a straw sticking out of it reading 'milk'. 

Oikawa looked at Kageyama and smiled faintly. "Um, I wouldn't mind sleeping in a bed if you have one... Thanks again, by the way." Kageyama nodded after Oikawa's response and leaded him into another small hall past the living room to the bedroom farthest to the back. Before entering Kageyama pointed right and said "This is the bathroom." and then opened the door to the room.

"Crap, sorry, I forgot that I had left some stuff in here." Kageyama said hurriedly. 

He gently moved some boxes into the room's closet and then started to push out what looked like a very expensive electronic keyboard. "You play piano?" Oikawa asked. "Um, yeah. I haven't played recently though, I never seem to find the time these days." _Jeez, is there anything this guy doesn't do?_

"Here." Oikawa lent a hand to start slowly moving the medium sized instrument into the living room, but because of his recent decisions back at the cafe he stumbled and fell face first, smacking his face into the keys and heard a very disgusting chord ring out. As Oikawa laid on the floor in shock Kageyama burst out in laughter. "You dumbass! Watch what you're doing next time, okay?"

Kageyama had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard and stuck a hand out for Oikawa to grab. Oikawa was still in shock, but not just from the pain on his face, but from the giggles that have left Kageyama still ringing in his ears. _He sounds just like 9._ he thought. His heart swelled at the thought of the boy he admired so much and he flooded with emotion hearing something so similar so  **clearly.** He laughed at the thought of 9's terrible mic, then soon after the fact that he just whacked his face onto a keyboard. Taking Kageyama's hand he was pulled to his feet and Oikawa pouted dramatically. "Ouch Tobio-Chan, not only did your piano bruise my beautiful face, but you laugh at me as well? I'm hurt." "Shut up, and help me get this out of here." Kageyama answered rolling his eyes.

 Once the keyboard was moved into the living room Kageyama murmured a quick thanks but suddenly a loud roar erupted from his stomach. "Sorry. I haven't ate anything all day." Oikawa thought back onto his own day and realized that he hadn't had much to eat either. The only thing he had ate was a bowl of sugary cereal in the morning and then a few too many beers along with a coffee the past few hours.

"Are you hungry as well?" Kageyama asked. "I, uh. A bit, but I can live without anything." Oikawa replied sheepishly.

"Sadly, I don't have anything in the fridge right now, but I'll order take out. What're you feeling?" Kageyama said, pulling out his phone from his pocket.

Oikawa was in a bit of shock. How could Tobio be so calm and mundane about all of this? They have literally been rivals since middle school and the fact that Tobio was acting as if they've been friends forever just amazed him. Maybe Kageyama was trying to manipulate him. Maybe he wanted a favor or to persuade something out of him he usually wouldn't.  _Whatever it is, I won't let my guard down._

Kageyama looked up from his phone and questioningly raised an eyebrow waiting for an answer. "Oh. Um. I'll take whatever you have I guess." Oikawa said.

~~~~~

 

Kageyama watched Oikawa nibble on the katsudon he had ordered for the both of them. Kageyama was on the couch sitting crisscross and Oikawa sat on the floor fighting with a piece of pork with his teeth and chopsticks. 

"You okay there?" Kageyama asked, poking fun. "I'm doing perfectly fine." Oikawa said through a full mouth.

They had finished their food fairly quickly, both of them trying to compensate for the day's take of their energy. They laid back staring at the ceiling in silence. 

"How long have you been playing piano? And painting too? I never knew you did so much stuff. I thought that the only thing you did was live for volleyball." Oikawa said, breaking the silence.

"Oh... When I was 10, I had a crush on this girl who was really into music. I thought she was the best thing in the world, and she was amazing at singing. I took every effort I could to learn an instrument, but I really sucked at everything. One day though, my dad had brought home an old grand piano his co worker had been wanting to get rid of and I took a crack at it. I fell in love with the piano more than the girl honestly..." 

Kageyama looked out the window and he smiled to himself thinking about the days he had spent playing for hours.

"And painting... That's more of Suga's thing. I felt really bad for taking his place as setter when i joined, so I tried talking to him to smooth things over, but in the end we ended up being good friends naturally. I really admire his work, so I started about a year ago maybe? I'm fairly new at it, but it's relaxing. A lot of the stuff I do is pretty intense, so it's nice to be able to have hobbies without a schedule or instructor." 

Kageyama sat up and looked at Oikawa who was now turned to his side on the floor looking up at him. "That's pretty amazing." Oikawa said after looking into his eyes for a few seconds. He then laid onto his back again and then softly spoke, "You must put in a lot of sacrifice as much as effort to be able to get things done." 

Kageyama blinked a few times. He remembered having this same conversation with Oikawa a month or two ago. Granted, it was a conversation between Fox and 909, but Kageyama couldn't help but compare all the things Oikawa did to his amazing volleyball talent as well. 

"I could say the same for you." Kageyama said without realizing. "Hmm?" "Ahhh, I mean, back at the cafe when you were talking about how you played guitar and stuff. I thought that was really impressive."

Kageyama mentally slapped himself.  _Really Kags? Did you just really slip up?_

"Did I say that? Hm. Yeah, I play guitar. I also game a lot and like to cook despite my athletic career."

Kageyama never told Oikawa what instrument he played, but about two weeks ago, he told Oikawa that he'd write music with him. He thought about the many chord progressions, tabs and scrapped songs Oikawa had sent him. Oikawa was a bit of a perfectionist, and even though Kageyama had said that many of his works were well, Oikawa had always thrown away perfectly fine melodies to find the 'correct sound.'

Kageyama stood and walked over the keyboard, plugging it in and pulling the chair away from his easel to move it infront of the keys. "This was actually a gift from Suga. When we moved to Tokyo, I was really devastated at the fact that I couldn't bring my piano with me. On my birthday I opened up the door and this was sitting right in the smack middle of my apartment with a bow and a card that said from Koushi." Kageyama smiled from the memory and placed a loving hand on the keys not pushing down. "My birthday was just yesterday, so I haven't had the chance to play it yet."

Oikawa sputtered at the fact that his birthday had just happened and pulled himself over to Kageyama.

"Happy late birthday Tobio-Chan, I had no idea." Oikawa said apologetically. "Thanks, and I mean, it's only natural you wouldn't know, so it's all good." After a pause Kageyama looked over at Oikawa and smiled. "Have a favourite artist?" he asked. Oikawa's head perked up in surprise. He put his hand up to stroke his chin. "Hm. I've been really into this band called Galileo Galilei. They're named after one of my favourite philosophers so that's a plus as well." 

Kageyama grinned and took a deep breath. Once he gained focus, he began playing what he already knew was Oikawa's favourite song by them. The melody of the song 'climber' had started to fill the room. Kageyama had been working on transcribing this for a while for Fox but he wanted it to be different. He re arranged the time signature, a few chords, and the length of the measures to make the song feel more passionate than the original. Though he loved the original, he also wanted to put his own twist on it. He wanted to make the song feel pure to not only match the lyrics, but give a deeper motivation than excited hype. It was the kind of motivation you pull out of you when you're at your lowest. He wanted it to feel like those moments during a drawn out match. When you're fighting to keep the ball in the air even though fatigue is at its highest. 

As Kageyama fingers danced over the keys and his foot delicately hit the pedal in rhythm to his hands, he finally hit the last chord and he could hear a silent breath of air leave Oikawa's mouth and tickle the back of his neck.

Oikawa had pulled himself up onto his knees to watch Kageyama's playing, and in the rush of the moment, both of them had gotten oddly close without meaning to. One of oikawa's hands rested on the side of the back of the chair, barely touching Kageyama's side. His head had pretty much made it's way over Kageyama's shoulder and their faces were practically inches apart. "That was amazing Tobio." Oikawa whispered.

Kageyama shivered at the vibration of Oikawa's words and he turned to look at him. Oikawa turned to face Kageyama better as well and his hand slid naturally to almost wrap around his waist. Kageyama looked into Oikawa's widened and amazed eyes and he breathed in a quick breath. This was probably the first time Oikawa had given anything slightly genuine to Kageyama rather than hate and he wanted to soak that in as much as possible.

Even though he'd hated Oikawa for how terrible he was to him the past years, he couldn't deny the admiration he had for him. This was something Kageyama had wanted very badly back in middle school and even high school. To be appreciated by his idol.

Oikawa smiled and Kageyama's eyes fluttered a bit. A slow blush started creeping up on Oikawa's cheeks and neck after realizing the position they were in and probably the reaction Kageyama had produced. 

Oikawa pulled away quickly and stood. Warmth started making its way onto Kageyama's cheeks as well and he put his head down before offering to go to bed.

~~~~~~

 

Kageyama was the first to go to his room and Oikawa didn't mind at all. He started making his way into the guest room after washing his face in Tobio's bathroom before stopping to examine a few items hanging on the hallway walls. 

The first item was a crumpled piece of paper in a frame. 'Karasuno Volleyball Application Form'.

Oikawa chuckled and continued making his way down the hall. A picture of Kageyama, Mr. Refreshing, and the orange pinball #10 was the next photo. #10 was on the back Suga smiling wide and holding up a peace sign while Suga himself seemed to be laughing. Kageyama seemed to be trapped in Suga's arms giving an awkward smile and holding up his own peace sign. 

The last photo was the entire Karasuno team. All of them seemed to have tears in their eyes even though they were smiling wide and proudly. They were all wearing their jerseys and what seemed to be- wait. 

The background of that photo seemed really familiar.

Oikawa leaned in a bit closer and remembered something he really wish he didn't.

But he knew he could never forget that day...

This was the day Karasuno had won against his own team during their fight to nationals.

He remembered the effort he had thrown out. He remembered the motivation he had worked so hard to give to his team. He remembered the long conversation Iwaizumi had with him, about how he was an amazing captain and that no matter what happened he could lead his team to victory. He remembered his last effort to win, to stay on the court. He remembered the ball flying through the air to the complete other side of the court where his best friend, his ace stood waiting to score. 

He remembered the block, the amazing set from his rival Kageyama Tobio, and he remembered the ball that  **he** couldn't receive. 

Oikawa tore his eyes away from the picture and briskly walked into the guest room throwing himself onto the bed. 

His eyes against his own will began to water once he was under the covers, and his body began to shake.

He laid there for a long while before his breathing slowed. He was so tired.

The day had already been long, and now he was emotionally drained as well as a bit intoxicated.

He closed his eyes and relaxed against the soft sheets. Even though he was comfortable now and his eyes were falling heavier and heavier by the second, he couldn't help but be upset that the warmth and atmosphere he was basking in was his.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me for another chapter. I don't want to be like one of those people that beg for kudos and stuff like that, but I really want a goal of maybe 30 or 40 kudos before my next chapter?  
> Also, Did you realize that I used an actual song from Haikyuu as the song Kageyama played? Plus, I personally love Galileo Galilei myself... Also, Oikawa playing guitar and Kageyama playing piano is inspired by a group called Lamb soars. I watched one of their covers for haikyuu!! and they look just like Kageyama and Oikawa, lol.  
> I've been updating daily because I really love this and I want to continue this... But I've also spent a few hours of my day writing this instead of the two thesis papers I have to do for school...  
> Haha, anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.  
> I think I'm gonna post a rough sketch of how i visualize Kageyama's apartment on my tumblr soon. If you wanna follow my tumblr it's "RykRae" as well.  
> Again, thank you guys so much, and I'll see you in the next one! <3


	4. Morning Company

* * *

Eyes fluttering open, Oikawa was awoken by the soft light filtering through the curtains and spilling onto the bed. The muffled sound of a bike bell from outside widened his eyes with the realization that he wasn't in his usual bed. Sitting up slowly, he felt around for his glasses in the empty space of the bed to the right of him, then slid on the frames with a yawn.

For a guest bedroom, it was as bare as expected. Not much was taking up space within the room other than two storage containers in an empty closet Tobio left open, a few small potted succulents on the window frame, and the bed itself, covered with white sheets and mismatched pillow cases. Oikawa turned his head to look out the window, but the light instantly shot a hard migraine into his right temple and blurred his vision. Right as a slight noise of discomfort left his mouth, a soft knock radiated from the bedroom door. The doorknob turned slowly and Kageyama stuck his head in looking around.

"Oh, you're awake. Hey, I went to the convenience store down the road to make some breakfast if you'd like to stay."

Kageyama's eyes were bright and a very slight smile was made on the corner of his mouth. Oikawa was a bit in awe. The Tobio he knew in highschool never had smiling eyes or a comforting aura. If he were to seriously think about it, Kageyama had been pretty socially awkward and rude. High proof being the whole 'king' nickname.

Before Oikawa could respond, Kageyama noticed the right hand Oikawa had pulled up to the side of his head, and most likely the wince he still had displayed across his face. "Oh yeah... Do you want some aspirin? You can also use my restroom if you need, I really don't mind." Oikawa simply nodded, still in a bit of shock and Kageyama had left the room to only be heard rummaging in his own room through the wall.

Oikawa felt bizarre. Why the hell was he in the home of a high school  _rival._

Though, even if they hadn't been the best of friends and the Tobio he was seeing now was a total stranger... He felt kind of comfortable.

He swung his feet off of the bed and his socked feet made contact with the cold stone floor, sending shivers up his spine and tingling the back of his neck. Stretching, Oikawa realized how physically uncomfortable he was. He still wore his slacks, sweater, and even watch and belt. His breath still held a now slightly gruesome taste of old coffee, alcohol, and saliva. He felt dirty, and he could feel dried tears on the side of his eyes, causing a slight pang of frustration and embarrassment. 

Another slight knock erupted from the door before Kageyama entered, holding a pair of adidas joggers and a forest green long sleeved shirt. "I'm guessing you probably wanna shower, so I brought you some clothes. The towel hanging on the rack is already clean so you can use it... Along with that, here." Kageyama tossed a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of water onto the bed, then handed the clothes to Oikawa.

"Ill be in the kitchen, call me if you need anything.", and that was all Kageyama had said before swiftly turning and making his way out of the room.

Oikawa walked into the hall and could hear the sound of dishes clinking from the kitchen. He slowly made his way to the bathroom door but during the walk, gazed at the picture of the karasuno team when he reached it.

Well, he was definitely less upset about it now than he had been last night, but that didn't stop the pang of guilt and anger he held when he thought about all he could've done for his last year of highschool.

Once in the shower, he felt so much better at the feel of the heated water massaging his back and rinsing away not only the tears, sweat, and scent of the day before, but the left over emotions he have had while being here.

He sighed and squinted to see the variety of soaps Tobio owned. It seemed that Tobio was pretty minimal when it came to cosmetics and body care products unlike himself. Grabbing whatever was labeled as he needed, he finished up his shower and dressed himself, feeling much more human.

He stood looking into the mirror, fixing his hair to look a bit more like himself and adjusted the shirt he was borrowing. He truly had expected the clothes to  be a bit tight. Oddly enough, seeing that Tobio had physically grown over he past few years made him hit the realization that he'd probably grown mentally as well.

This wasn't highschool anymore.

Oikawa stared into the mirror for a bit and leaned on the counter putting his head down, thinking about the ridiculous action he had made last night seeing that framed photo.

Oikawa wasn't a bad guy. He knew this... Even if Iwaizumi would say otherwise.

In highschool, yes, he was a selfish piece of crap.. But now, now he had to realize that this _is_ now, and in the past few years they both had developed in their own ways.

 

Once Oikawa walks into the kitchen he sees Tobio drop a plate on the floor. It shatters when it makes it's way to the floor and the pieces dance their feet. Kageyama swears loudly and then hops over the shattered mess to grab a broom and start violently sweeping.

_Well, even though Tobio had been a darling earlier. Anger and a lack of patience is something I see he kept._

"Now, now Tobio-Chan let your senpai show you how to properly make a meal. Why don't you clean up this mess before one of us gets hurt?."

Kageyama narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the use of 'senpai', but he did as he was told and began to sweep up in a much calmer fashion.

Oikawa scanned the counter with his eyes quickly. He had eggs, a couple of veggies, fruit, bread- wait... 

"TOBIO-CHAN IS THIS MILK BREAD?!" 

Oikawa began bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet and picked up the bagged loaf, holding it in the air like Simba from the lion king and spun around in circles. 

Kageyama let out a soft laugh at the sight and nodded. "Yeah, it is. Didn't know you were such a fan."

Oikawa placed the bread onto the counter and grabbed Kageyama by the shoulders. 

"My dear Tobio. You start on a nice steaming cup of coffee, because of your gift of my favourite food, I shall bless you with a breakfast of a lifetime from the convenience store items you brought back to me."

~~~

Well, it was a fact that Kageyama couldn't cook for the life of him, but he also knew that he was very much capable of making a cup of coffee. He had plenty of practice from the early mornings before school, but also the mornings similar to this when Suga had lived here. 

The only reason Kageyama even lived alone in a two person bedroom apartment was because of them initially living together. 

Frankly, rent was getting harder and harder to pay, but thankfully he had financially strong and stable parents he had "borrowed" some money from.

He felt kind of selfish about it, but he really liked this apartment. He liked the distance from the university, grocery mart, art studio, and coffee shop. He liked the brick walls and the stone floor and the modern industrial look of the architecture. He liked thinking about the memories Suga and him had spent in here.

He remembered picking out furniture at the nearest Target and IKEA. He remembered the awkward up beat dancing they had done when they saved up enough money for their stereo.

As Kageyama pulled out the coffee press and began scooping crushed beans into it, he even remembered the day Suga had sat them down on the couch to explain that he had to move out to live with his brother.

He'd been fighting cancer for about 6 years and had been recovering, but they found that it had come back. All the surgeries had taken a toll on him, and sadly, Suga's brother couldn't care for himself anymore. Suga had cried in his arms apologizing about how they had worked so hard to make their home into a home, but Kageyama had reminded him that it was his duty as a brother to take care of his blood while in need. He'd be fine, he said. Fine.

Kageyama poured boiling water into container and let it sit for a bit before he decided to press. 

He watched Oikawa battle the eggs in the pan with a spatula and sighed. Having someone in his house for so long really made him realize how much he missed having someone live with him.

Oikawa let out a slight yell when oil had hopped out of the pan to bite his wrist and Kageyama giggled at the fight between the two.

Oikawa's ears perked at the sound of his laugh and he spun around whimsically, throwing his hips to the side and raising the spatula in a sassy manner. "Why don't you give this a go Tobio-Chan? Pardon me if I am incorrect, but about 15 minutes ago, you were breaking dishes and swearing like a mad man."

Kageyama simply rolled his eyes and began to press down on the coffee slowly. The smell of the hot liquid instantly made his shoulders relax and his lungs deeply inhale. Coffee really was a brew of the Gods. 

After pulling out two mugs from the cupboard Kageyama began to pour the dark liquid. p>

"Cream or sugar?" Kageyama asked.

"Both please, but not too much of either if possible." Oikawa said while turned away, still facing the stove.

Kageyama added the cream into the cups and the thought about the time Suga had compared it to mixing paints floated into his mind. He smiled and began stirring, releasing steam into the air.

Oikawa came over smiling proudly holding two plates and a basket of hot milk bread rolls on his forearm.

"You could be a waiter." Kageyama teased

Oikawa simply smiled and set down the food onto the kitchen island as Kageyama pulled out some stools for them.

The meal had consisted of large and savory looking omelettes topped with cilantro and diced tomatoes. On the side there was a handful of a variety of fruits that Oikawa had cut, creating a salad. Next to that were thin,crisp fries that Kageyama had just realized Oikawa had made from the only thing he had in his fridge besides a dozen small box cartons of milk; two potatoes. 

Kageyama stared in awe and felt his mouth water with satisfaction. As he pressed his fork into the omelette an abundance of melted cheese, onions, tomatoes, ham, and plenty of other goods spilled onto the plate.

Oikawa watched intently as Kageyama raised the fork to his mouth and silently chew. 

Eyes wide, he swallowed and set down his fork grabbing the edge of the table in both hands and stared Oikawa in the eyes.

"That. Was. Amazing."

Oikawa smiled widely and rubbed the back of his neck. "Haha, thank you. I'm really glad you like it."

Kageyama continued to devour his meal and seemingly content, Oikawa instinctively reached for a milk bread roll and tore a piece of it off, dunking it into his coffee before swallowing.

"So.. Tobio-Chan." Oikawa said between bites. "Why all of this? Why have you been so nice to me?"

Kageyama swallowed heavily before nervously taking a sip of his coffee and shifting uncomfortably.

To be honest, the main reason he'd been so nice was because of his realization that Oikawa was Fox. It took a while for him to be convinced, but now that he was, he instantly felt comfortable around Oikawa.

Everything he knew about both people had melted into one being and because of this, Kageyama felt like Oikawa was a long time friend who he'd had lots of chemistry with.

"Well.. I.. I guess that I wanted to move past all the hate. You know, from high school and all. Last night made me think about how stupidly aggressive we were to eachother, and it feels a bit silly now that we're going to the same university and all." 

"I know how you feel. I was thinking about that earlier. We're both different people from who we were in highschool, and I feel that I should at least offer to meet this new Kageyama."

Kageyama blinked a few times at the honesty and at the fact that Oikawa hadn't used his usual teasing nickname. 

"Speaking of going to the same university... I had no idea that we even went to the same school until last night. Why haven't I seen you at any of the volleyball practices?"

And there it was. 

He was expecting this sooner or later from any of his friends once they found out he wasn't doing the volleyball in university. The only person who knew was Suga, and even then, it took a while before he had told him the truth.

Oikawa placed a warm hand onto his wrist and Kageyama flinched.

He had been clutching his fists so tight that his knuckles had gone white from the pressure. 

"Tobio. You don't have to explain yourself if you don't want to. It's okay."

At Oikawas words Kageyama released his hands and pulled away from the touch.

"I'm sorry Oikawa." 

Kageyama looked up from the table to meet winsome eyes the same colour as the coffee they were drinking. Oikawa had his head tilted to the side but didn't push the matter any further.

"I-" Kageyama had started, but a very displeasing and cat like screech had shot its way up from outside the apartment door and in curiosity, both boys sprinted to see what the commotion was about.

Opening the door they peered down the staircase to see a head of black hair squirming at the bottom of the steps. 

"Oh God, help!" 

Oikawa was the first to make his way to the bottom but stopped abruptly. Kageyama slammed into his back and looked up to see a confused expression forming on Oikawa's face before he himself realized what was going on.

His neighbor Kuroo was on the floor in nothing but polka dotted boxers and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Foam darts with suction cups stuck to his back and he held his own toy gun in his hand.

Kuroo looked up at Kageyama and slowly pulled himself off the floor grabbing onto the hem of his shirt.

"Kageyama you have to help! This morning Bokuto bought FIRE WORKS! Like come on! That is absolutely cheating! How are we supposed to have proper duels if the guy is going around CHEATING!?!"

Kageyama was about to respond about how Kuroo had covered the hall floor with ketchup, and when Bokuto ran into the hall and slipped smashing his face through the window that was pretty unfair, but a thin, bored looking boy with short, messy black hair emerged from the bottom floor apartment. 

"Hey Akaashi." Kageyama said instead. 

Kuroo turned around about to complain to him instead of Kageyama, but Akaashi grabbed Kuroo by the ear and began pulling him back into the apartment. 

"Ow! Akaashi! That really hurts!"

Not responding to Kuroo, Akaashi turned, Kuroo in hand and faced Oikawa and Kageyama as he stood in the doorway. 

"Sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Thank you again for joining me in another chapter!  
> This chapter was mainly a bunch of foreshadowing *wink* and a lot of fluff.  
> Most oikage is represented as pretty toxic, so I wanted to flip that around a bit.  
> Don't worry though, the angst will return soon, as well as a new 'story arch.'  
> This wasn't originally planned, but I think I've decided to add some Suga x Kageyama in here to spice things up a bit. That won't be the main relationship of the story because this is a Oikage fic, but I think It'll be interesting.  
> I already want to write so many more stories, so please, stay with me if you guys like this fic. Many more will hopefully come soon!


	5. An Achievement

Kageyama landed on the bed with a thud, his back hitting the soft sheets. After seeing Oikawa off and cleaning up the kitchen, he felt his actual tiresome self without all the adrenaline of having someone in the apartment with him.

He turned sideways to gaze out the window. Cars, bikes, and pedestrians passed below on the late morning street. Moving his gaze upwards his eyes met the soft tone of the blue sky mixed with the still lingering pink of small wispy clouds. To add with the tones, the tan of the building roof's ledge and vines dripping down onto the side of his window created a beautiful sight. 

Tones usually reminded Kageyama of Suga. Not just because of the ironically gray hair, but tones were just so simplistic and elegant. After contemplating for a bit, Kageyama decided that he'd try and water paint that. 

He wiggled to the edge of his bed and stuck his arm down under it to reach for the backpack he had shoved there a few days before. He pulled it out and opened up the main compartment to find a sketchbook. Flipping open to a blank page and readying a pencil, he stared at the piece of paper deciding how he'd start it off. Though, while in the process of planning he was distracted by the heavy tremor radiating from his hands.

He frowned, set down the pencil and placed his palms flat on the bed to they stopped moving. He stared at them for a bit, then raised them back up to only see that they were still shaking.

Kageyama's eyes narrowed and he spat at his own hands. Again, he laid his hands flat, took a deep breath, and raised them to see that they were still rapidly moving. Almost against his will, in a flash of frustration he threw his sketchbook across the room and it hit the wall with a sharp slap.

This was stupid. Why couldn't they just stop?

Even though Kageyama would hate to admit it, this was more than simple tiredness or caffeine. Ever since that short amount of time, a while ago, Kageyama hadn't been able to rid himself of the constant tremor in his hands. By now he had grown somewhat accustomed to it, but it was moments like this, when he was reminded how he couldn't do simple things he loved, that really ate at him.

Taking a deep breath, Kageyama relaxed and he sat at the edge of his bed.

Clothes, art supplies, school papers, and even dishes scattered around his bedroom floor and desk. He really needed to clean up. To be fair, it was most likely messing with his mental health as well. Plus, it didn't help that he had been wearing the same tan sweat shirt and pair of black shorts straight for the past week and a half. 

Smelling his shirt he cringed a bit and stood. He'd do laundry. That would be a good step in the right direction. 

As he piled dirty clothes from his floor into a basket he felt a soft buzz in his pocket. It was a message from Fox.

 

**Fox:**

**Whats up 9! Man, do I have a story for you! Last night and this morning was pretty crazy. Lmao, that sounds kind of weird, but it really was interesting.**

**Oh, also, I think I have some inspiration for a new song! If you still wanna make something, just join on in and send me anything you think will be cool for our song :)**

 

Kageyama stared at the message for a bit. _Pretty crazy? Hm, I wonder what Oikawa truly thinks about me_. 

He was about to reply back, but a strange feeling probbed at his chest.

_Oikawa has no clue about me being 9. Is that... Bad?_

Kageyama thought about all the reasons why Oikawa would even be mad at him for such a thing. He dissed himself for thinking that he would get mad at him for something like that, but then he grew afraid at a certain thought.

Kageyama had begun to rise in the community of their game. He was a top archer like Fox already, and to be fair, he could totally go off and start his own guild if he wanted. He was pretty positive that half if not more of the one they were both in would join him... But he wasn't that kind of person. Plus, Fox was a strong leader, without him, it's most likely that the guild would fall apart.

Besides that though, if Kageyama were to do that, Fox would rage. Past shows that Oikawa / Fox already has issues with people rising up to him in ego. If he tried, Kageyama could pinpoint exact moments in time when Oikawa had been close to murdering him for being so close to level with him at his age.

He shivered at the thought.

Maybe he should wait. Wait things out a bit... Yeah, that would work. He just needed a bit of time to see where things would lead.

**Hey Fox. I'm excited to hear what stories you have. Also, yes, soon I will send some stuff for our music project. I have something I'm working on, but it will be a little while until I'm done.**

That should be okay for now. He'd wait to tell Oikawa who he was and he'd still play things through normally until then. All should be good.

~~~

 Oikawa finished sending a text to 909 before plopping down on his desk chair. He was happy. The morning had been nicer than he had expected. After retrieving his things and doing his best to refrain from conversing with Tobio's odd neighboors below, he had made his way back down the street to the bus stop and finally to his small home. 

The stay at Kageyama's still lingered in his mind. The breakfast he had made them, Tobio's laugh, the easy going conversation. It was a first time in a long while Oikawa was able to actually make a legitimate breakfast and sit down to enjoy it. Usually his breakfast consisted of either something he picked up on the way to university or a to go coffee. On days he didn't have classes, he was too tired to even get out of bed, so this slight change of pace really felt good.

A beep from his phone shook him away from his thoughts and he picked it up expecting a message from 9, but instead it was a message from Iwaizumi.

 

**Iwa-Chan:**

**StupidKawa, where the hell are you!? Practice started 20 minutes ago and coach wants a word with you as well!**

 

Oikawa stopped breathing. 

He panicked and his mind went blank for about 2 seconds before he quickly stood and began to leave. Almost out the front door, he grabbed his gym bag sitting next to his shoes and then locked up the apartment before running down the stairs two to three steps at a time.

 

 

Oikawa had been warming up while watching his team go through drills without him. He was proud of them. When he first joined the team, only Iwaizumi had known him and his skill, so it was nice being able to lead a new team and find all of their personal set of skills. Also, seeing a bunch of new members fan over him wasn't a bad feeling either.

He smiled smugly to himself, but knew that he deserved to feel at least a bit pretentious every now and then. 

Oikawa had worked very, very hard for his skill set. He couldn't even begin to describe the amount of sacrifice and work he'd put into being the way he was now. As much as he loved guitar, cooking, gaming, and even his damn family, he had to give up moments with things that he loved to be able to put time into making himself strong.

The amount of hours he had spent serving certainly reflected on his performance, he even gained a permanent injury from working himself to the bone in highschool. Granted, it was minor, but it was a reminder of how dedicated he was to the sport. 

Just as he began to jog over to his team to practice he heard a strong voice call out his name.

"Oikawa! Come see me in my office."

After hearing his coaches request, Oikawa's spine tingled with nerves. Was he mad that he was late? He truly didn't mean to forget, but as he followed his coach into the office room he knew it was more than that.

Once the door closed Oikawa moved his way forwards a few feet so he was a bit away from a desk that placed itself in front of two windows that were covered with blinds. His coach went to the windows and opened the blinds slightly by changing their angle to let more light in. After slipping on a pair of reading glasses, his coach then turned slowly and picked up a folder from his desk. 

No words were shared between the two yet, but Oikawa's heart was hammering deadly hard against his rib cage. What happened? Was he being kicked off? Maybe one of his teammates had a complaint? We're his grades going down the drain? Oikawa literally could not think of a plausible reason for this, but he stayed composed on the outside, his hands behind his back and his head pointed straight ahead at attention.

"Congratulations Tooru."

At his coach's words, Oikawa stood dumbstruck and confused to the situation unraveling in front of him. 

"You've been awarded a scholarship. And if I may, this is a damn fine one. It'll pretty much cut down your tuition over fifty to sixty percent, and the best thing about it is that it's renewable." 

A gleam of pride was present in his coach's eyes, and Oikawa let that move through him as well. He smiled greatly and was about to speak when suddenly his coach's facial features grew stern again. "Though... I should tell you something."

Oikawa's heart beat picked up again, but he knew that his coach only meant well for him, so even though he was insanely nervous, he listened intently. 

"Before I begin, I want you to know Tooru, that you are an outstanding player. You are most likely the hardest working individual in this entire gosh damn gym, and you are most likely the one to go fartherst... But... You deserve to know that this was not originally planned to go to you. Ironically, it was meant to go to another setter like yourself, but he turned it down and it found it's way to you. Call it fate, call it luck, I don't really care. But, I do think that you really deserve it, and as much as I like seeing you bust your ass out there, don't beat yourself up over this one. This is an  _achievement,_ okay?"

Oikawa stood deathly silent, trying to process everything the coach quickly said.

He had to be fucking kidding. He knew better than to not get worked up over it, but it just pissed him off so much. 

Oikawa struggled daily. He tried to wrack up good grades, to be the best player he possibly could, and to be able to basically live. He could hardly pay for his rent, and he fell asleep on his text books constantly. He struggled and struggled but the only reason he got this 'great stroke of luck' was because some fucking kid didn't want it.

Oikawa was thankful, of course he was, but the fact that he has been working his ass off for so long just to be the next best choice was something he deeply wanted to get rid of already. 

Oikawa breathed deeply and his coach gave him a slightly concerned look. Oikawa had a hunch that he wished would be false, but drawn out by curiosity he had to find out if it was true or not. 

"Sir. If you don't mind me asking, do you know the original student that turned this down?" 

His coach gave him a confused look, but picked up the folder anyways.

"It's just that, I'd like to know who the competition is." Oikawa said grinning. He couldn't lose his charm just because he was a bit mad could he?

After a brief scan through the folder from his coach's eyes, he finally said, "Hmm. It says that it was a guy named Kageyama. Tobio Kageyama. 

Oikawa's heart clenched. He thought about the boy with the raven hair and the deep sea eyes. He thought about his beautiful giggles and his Starry Nighy socks. He thought about Kageyama and everything the two had gone through the past day and a half, but it only hurt now. 

"He was offered everything; the full ride", his coach continued. "But he turned it down last minute saying that he wasn't going to play college volleyball. Crushed a lot of teams reaching out to him apparently. I think I might've looked into him as well, but as expected he responded to my email with an apology rather than acceptance." 

After his coach finished speaking Oikawa simply smiled, nodded, and walked out quickly.

He ran into the bathroom breathing hard and paced back and forth on top of the grey tiles. 

_Are you fucking serious? What the actual hell?_

His breathing intensified with every step and he raised his hands into his hair making a frustrated groan.

Every fucking time. EVERY TIME. Why is it that Tobio got everything? Ever since highschool. Oikawa couldn't help that he wasn't some naturally gifted freak, he simply loved the game and worked for it, that's all. 

But no. Here Tobio stood. Directly in the way between Oikawa, and his goals. Oikawa turned to face the mirror.

_How disgusting._

Not even realizing his actions through a sudden blinding heat of anger, he threw a fist into the glass and even though a sharp pain itched at his knuckles  and made its way up his arm when he heard the sound of glass shattering, he didn't care. He threw himself against the wall and slid down, wrapping his arms around his legs. A stinging pain screamed from his right hand, but he ignored it. 

He put his head down and it hung between his head like a rag doll, a rag doll stripped of it's personality as soon as the player put down the toy. 

That's what he felt like now. A toy. Not just of the game, the higher ups, the rival teams, hell, not even life itself. He felt like a used toy of Tobio's. That damn brat. Even after everything that had happened between them a few hours ago, now it all felt empty.

He felt cheated and abused. And more than anything he felt lied to.

He truly thought that they could be friends... But of course, he was only a toy...

Despite Oikawa's usual positive outlook and "worthless pride", his vision blurred with salty tears that then ran down his face. 

He sat there for a long while. At least perhaps that's what it seemed. His thoughts were messy and tangled and all the could do was sit there like a corpse. Ever so slowly though, the squeak of the door sounded and the tapping of shoes came near. Oikawa kept his head down full of embarrassment. After a moment of silence, he heard a figure slide down next to him and felt a a warm arm wrap around Oikawa's shoulders.

Oikawa raised his head with much struggle and he turned to see the person next to him. After wiping away his pathetic tears with his arm, he gave a true and gentle smile to his best friend through closed chapped lips. 

Iwaizumi said nothing, but gave a gentle nod and and to Oikawa's shoulder, a reassuring squeeze. 

Oikawa felt kind of bad. His friend really didn't need to see him like this, though in the past he had seen this side of him many times before. He rested his head onto Iwaizumi and looked at the sight before his eyes. In the sink and on the floor, parts of the mirror made themselves at home, reflecting the florescent bulbs and sparking almost like water. Blood dripped from the tip's of Oikawa's knuckles and contrasted with the rest of the cool colours of the bathroom violently.

He sat there sad and upset, but now slightly normal with the presence of Iwaizumi being there. He was so tired, just so damn tired. 

"Let's go Tooru."  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and thank you for joining me in another chapter! Though this isn't as long and I would like it to be, I added some drama in this one. I hope you guys like it. Right now a lot of things are being set up, so I'm sorry if it seems slow.  
> Also, this is sort of embarrassing because I'm kind of insecure, but I started an art and cosplay Instagram account a few days ago. It's called "rykrae" as well if you'd wanna check it out, haha.  
> Also!!! I'm in the process of transcribing a haikyuu song. I've pretty much done it all already, but I think I'm going to write English lyrics for it.  
> Again, sorry if my chapters are a bit mundane, I have school, work, all these personal projects and my own practices as well, so please forgive me.  
> Anyways, thank you again, and I hope to see you soon! <3


	6. Coffee Prince

Oikawa had to practically pull himself out of sleep. His eyes struggled to open and when they did, they felt tacky from napping with his contacts on. A bad taste enveloped his mouth and his body still ached, but once his vision cleared he allowed himself to soak in the familiar atmosphere of Iwaizumi's home.

His memory was foggy of what had happened after Iwaizumi found him in the bathroom. He could hardly remember the tram line to his home, but he remembered being helped onto the couch and crying on Iwaizumi's shoulder, the frantic breaths, his head spinning and the feeling of his mind and body caving in on him. It had been a long time since he had an anxiety attack. Granted this wasn't necessarily a result of only the scholarship and Tobio, but all the stress he had been suppressing for the past few weeks / months.

Oikawa's gaze moved forwards and noticed a figure sitting in the recliner across from him. Iwaizumi was on his phone scrolling quickly and silently. Oikawa's mouth tilted upwards at the sight. "Iwa-chan, were you waiting for me to wake up?" 

Even though Oikawa held a teasing tone to it, his voice was rasp and dry from what he guessed was a product of all the crying. 

Iwaizumi looked up from his phone, rolled his eyes, but stood anyways and made his way to were Oikawa laid on the couch. Iwaizumi sat on the floor to be eye level with Oikawa and held a monotone face, yet there was a slight glimmer of worry in them.

"My prince charming." Oikawa continued teasingly.

Iwaizumi stayed silent for a minute, trying to find something in Oikawa's expression to figure out the problem. After contemplating silently he said, "Tooru. Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Oikawa's teasing smile faltered and he turned onto his back to face upwards at the ceiling. "I do. But, I don't really know where to start, I guess."

Iwaizumi stood and began walking to the direction of his kitchen. "Well, if you want you can spend the night. Just like old times. We've both been busy, so this will be nice for a catch up and stuff."

Oikawa's eyes widened a bit, but he smiled and shakily sat himself up on the couch. A very familiar silent agreement was shared between the two through their expressions and Oikawa's chest grew warm with happiness.

 

Oikawa didn't know how much time he spent standing in the shower, but he suspected that he ended up taking an accidental nap when he came to the realization that his hands were wrinkly and the water had turned cold. After groggily dressing himself in some spare clothes he had kept here; some grey sweatpants and a shirt that said 'I believe' with an alien on the top right corne, he brushed his teeth and used contact solution from the extra supplies he kept in his gym bag. All in all, he felt more stable. 

He made his way back to the living room, but his legs still felt shaky from all the emotional exhaust of the day. Sitting himself in the same spot on the couch he usually did whenever he came over, he was greeted by a hand holding a steaming cup of hot cocoa. Oikawa let the steam rising from the cup meet his nose and his mouth twitched at the sweet scent. A drop of water fell silently from a curl of his hair and into the cup, and he heard Iwaizumi snort. Oikawa took the cup in his hands gratefully and let the warmth run through him. 

Iwaizumi took his place in the recliner and they both sat in comfortable silence for a while, each taking sips of their hot chocolate.

"It wasn't coach." Oikawa had finally said. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent, waiting for him to finish.

"Well... Most of it was just from the usual stress. My rent, grades, family, the usual stuff." He paused a moment and gulped a bit of his hot drink before continuing. "It was that brat." he said harshly. Iwaizumi made a face of confusion, but then understood the meaning of the term 'brat'.

"Kageyama? Did something happen last night after Suga and I left?" 

Oikawa hesitated a moment before speaking again. "No. I went home with him."

Iwaizumi had lifted his mug to his face but choked on his drink at Oikawa's words and Oikawa laughed lightly at the reaction. "Don't worry, It wasn't like that at all. I was a bit too tired from the day already and he offered to let me stay the night."

Iwaizumi wiped his mouth with his sleeve and titled his head in confusion. "So, how did it end up? Did you guys fight or something?"

Oikawa looked down into his mug and watched tiny marshmallows gently melt away into a foam. He felt really upset about it all now. The small adventure hadn't been that bad at all. He thought about the katsudon, the painting supplies that had littered the living room, the piano, the giggles, the weird neighbors. "No. Everything was actually really nice. It sounds weird, but even though I was totally expecting us to have some kind of conflict, I felt really comfortable around him, like we had been friends for a while.

Iwaizumi simply nodded, knowing that there was more to the story.

"I uh. I was told by Coach that I had received a big scholarship. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited about it. It's just that, the only reason I even got it was because it turned out that Tobio had turned it down." 

Oikawa didn't even have to explain himself, Iwaizumi nodded once again, but this time in complete understanding. He knew exactly how Oikawa was like, and he knew how much this effected his mentality. Oikawa was grateful for this. 

"Iwa-chan, do you know why Suga-chan and Tobio-chan aren't doing volleyball?"

Even though Oikawa would hate to admit it, he was deeply curious as to why the two setters weren't doing the sport, especially Tobio. He remembered the amount of times Tobio had claimed that the day he stopped playing volleyball would be as sad as the day he died. Why would Tobio just quit? There had to be a reason. 

"I'm not sure why Kageyama isn't doing it, but I know that Suga and a lot of other ex Karasuno members play in a club that is separate from school. It's still competitive and all, but the perk is that they get to choose their hours and a lot of other stuff like that. Since most of them go to different universities or have jobs, it was the best idea they could think up." Iwaizumi said.

Oikawa frowned at the fact that only Kageyama wasn't playing. 

_Why Tobio? If I couldn't beat you in high school, at least give me the chance now. I want to see how much you've grown. I want you to see me._

Oikawa sighed and set his now empty mug onto the floor besides the couch. After a long sip from Iwaizumi, he finished his drink and pulled himself out of the recliner to grab Oikawa's cup and put both of the mugs into the sink. 

At the end of the couch, a soft blanket lay folded along with a pillow. Oikawa sat up to quickly grab the two and he laid himself onto the pillow and threw the blanked over his legs. 

Iwaizumi walked back into the living room and put a lamp next to the recliner on a low setting before turning off the lights and making his way to his room. As he passed Oikawa he patted his head lightly. Oikawa grabbed his wrist and looked up into the dark to try and make out his best friend's face. "Thank you Iwa-Chan." 

"Night, crappykawa." Iwaizmumi said softly 

+

It had been two and a half weeks since everything had happened with Kageyama, the coach, and the scholarship. Oikawa had found himself in his usual rhythm of things and had even began to work brighter and harder like his usual self. He had finally caught up with all his school work and had more free time on his hands. 

During one of the days while him and Iwaizumi were having coffee together at Eden, they had walked in seeing a 'help wanted' sign. After being somewhat dared to apply for the job and wearily doing such, he now stood behind the long counter in the very back, wearing a grey vest and a long apron. At first he had giggled at the attire, but now he concluded that he definitely looked good in the uniform. He had heard one of the female customers the other day call him a 'coffee prince', but if Oikawa was any kind of royalty, he was positive a king was a word of greater fit. After giving the girl a bright and shining smile he had been awarded with a large tip as well as a few numbers.

Also, the crazy spiky haired guy Bokuto and the taller, slender looking man who he learned whose name was Kuroo later, weren't all that bad. 

They were a bit rambunctious, he'd give it that, but things were handled well by their manager, Akaashi. Oikawa didn't really know why they needed help seeing how well the three worked together, but he had really been enjoying the job so far and was thankful for the opportunity. Every day he came to work, he felt more at ease with the area. The atmosphere of the entire cafe was just so pleasing to Oikawa's soul, and he always felt happy and busy. 

Oikawa was wiping the bar table down with a white cloth when he heard the door bells jingle. He looked up and saw Kooru walk in lazily holding a brown paper bag in one hand and the other was holding onto  a messenger bag on his shoulder for stability. Kooru tossed the bag onto the counter and continued past Oikawa into the back to change into his uniform. 

Suspiciously, Oikawa carefully unfolded the top of the bag to look inside and was instantly overjoyed to see that it was filled with Taiyaki. He took a fish out of the bag and bit into the bread happily. The bread was nice and warm and red bean paste melted into his mouth. 

Kooru made his way back out into the cafe from the employees room and smirked at Oikawa who was eating the sweet treat. "You like? There's a vendor outside selling them right now. They smelled really good so I got one for all of us."

Oikawa looked into the bag once again and saw that four still took their place in the bag's inventory. "Wow, did you get yourself two?" "Haha, nope. I don't think you were here when Akaashi announced it, but we have five workers now, the amount Akaashi wanted." "Really?" 

Oikawa tingled with excitement. He loved meeting new people. He was honestly a really social person, and he loved to talk. Not only did he like to listen to people, people were always excited to listen to him. Sure, his looks might pay a large part in people liking him, but he was a really nice guy and was always ready to share. 

As if on cue, the bell doors jingled once more and both males turned to face the incomer. After letting in the cool winter air the incomer pulled off a black and furry trapper hat to release a head of bright silver hair. 

 

Even though Oikawa hadn't considered himself a coffee prince, he could definitely label Mr. Refreshing for one. The gray vest ultimately brought out his unique hair even more, and the brown of the long apron accented his eyes immensely. The uniform almost seemed to be specifically created for Suga.

Suga was currently in the process of placing various framed paintings, canvases, and sculptures around the cafe. He was seeming to have a hard time hanging up a medium sized canvas and Oikawa sighed. He mustn't be an ass, especially since this guy was now his co worker. Just because he was a friend of Tobio's doesn't mean that he is Tobio. 

Plus, he had a respect for Suga. Not only did he seem to revive and help his team in their time of need, but he had also been stripped from his love for volleyball by Kageyama too. He remembered that Suga was co-captain of the team, and he didn't even get to play as often as Tobio.

Oikawa made his way to Suga and reached up, his hands brushing Suga's slightly and going above them to set the canvas securely on some tacks. Suga quickly turned and gasped a little in surprise at the sight of Oikawa. He chucked a bit and stepped back. "Hey there Suga, been a while since we last saw eachother." 

"Ha, yeah." Suga replied. His delicate face lit up lightly and he titled his head awkwardly, placing a hand behind his head.

Oikawa smiled at the cuteness and then turned to look at the painting. It was stunning. Blacks, grays, blues, and purples made up a dark backdrop of what seemed to be the universe. They blended perfectly together and for a second Oikawa felt like he was falling into the abyss of the sky. Specs of stars, and other accents of colour created what Oikawa would suspect to be planets. All these colours, shades, and contrast in whole added to a wonderful but simplistic representation of what was space. Oikawa was entranced. Perhaps it could've been a bias like because of the love Oikawa had for the universe, but as he scooted back even more to get a better view, he realized it was really worth the like. The pattern of the planets and stars had formed what made out to be a bird. A crow, or a raven it seemed, it's wings spread wide and in full power. 

"Wow." was all Oikawa said.

"Do you like it? I asked the art club if they wanted to donate some paintings to Eden for popularity and niceness and this was one of the donations."

"It's beautiful." 

Suga smiled brightly and picked up a few more items on the table, filling his arms. 

"If you would like to, you could help me finish decorating!"

 

After helping suga hang up the last of the items, Oikawa heard the sound of the door for the third time that morning. 

Turning with the greatest smile he lifted an arm casually, "Welcome to Ede-"

Oikawa cut off his sentence quickly as the boy with Raven hair and eye's like the sea and space stumbled in holding two more paintings. "Suga I brought the last of the paintings! One of them is outside though, since I couldn't carry all of them in at once."

Kageyama shuffled over to the silver haired boy and gently shook the two pieces with excitement before turning and recoiling about five steps when he made eye contact with Oikawa. 

"I'll get the one outside!" Suga said brightly, swooshing past both of them and out the door. 

"Oikawa, hey." Kageyama said shyly. 

For some damn reason, Oikawa's heart clenched. If he were to be completely honest, he really wanted to spend more time with Tobio after that weekend, but he just couldn't. He was just so mad at him, for all the shit he seemed to constantly put upon him.

Even now for instance. He had just cleaned up his act again, was feeling good and got a new job and was doing better. But, here Kageyama was.\

As though Oikawa couldn't help himself he ended up responding very harshly and threw up a wall. 

"Hi." Oikawa pushed past Kageyama roughly and grabbed a rag to wipe down tables. 

Kageyama followed Oikawa with his gaze and stood dumbstruck. He opened his mouth and closed it again, not knowing what to say. After a bit he cleared his throat and took a step towards Oikawa with a concerned look.

"Umm, are you oka-" "I would prefer if you didn't talk to me Tobio." 

Kageyama stopped dead in his tracks. Oikawa felt bad, but he really couldn't find it in him to be nice to Kageyama anymore. All he did was use people and take what they wanted from them. He was just so done, and he hated him for everything. He has hated him, ever since middle school. Tobio was a bad luck charm and haunted him wherever he went. 

"Oikawa, I don't understand." 

"There isn't anything to be confused about Tobio. Did you think just because I got a little ditsy and accepted coming over to your house made us bffs? You're a simple minded king without a cause, and I've known this since middle school." 

Even though with every word Oikawa said brought a sadder and sadder expression onto Tobio's face, he couldn't stop himself. When Oikawa had said 'king', Kageyama took a step back and shoved his hands into his pocket roughly. 

"I'm not going to fall for your tactics, just leave me alone. All you ever do is bring me pain, can't you just leave my life already?" 

Kageyama had his head down and his bangs hid his eyes. Slowly he lifted his head and he dropped the paintings to the ground. He firmly and quickly grasped the front of Oikawa's dress shirt tucked under his vest and in shock Oikawa flinched at the hardness in Kageyama's eyes. The deep blue and galaxy gaze was transformed into a dead and soulless pitch black hole in a matter of a few seconds after he had called him 'king.'

"My name is not king, Oikawa san." 

Kageyama said each word slowly and softly and Oikawa felt absolutely terrified for a second. 

They stood like that for a bit, staring eachother dead into the eyes, both too stubborn to look away until the jingle of bells created a sign that Suga  was walking back in. Kageyama almost inhumanly shifted into the eyes of a murder to the eyes of the sea. Gentle waves of realization flooded into Kageyama's posture and he spun on his heel.

He placed a hand on Suga's shoulder. "I'll be going now, It was nice to see you for this short moment, Suga." 

Suga nodded once, and there Kageyama went, quickly out the door and into the cold winter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! First, I'm sorry for any grammar problems. I usually write these at night, so I'm pretty tired when it comes to making these. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter, I'm trying to find a main conflict as well and different archs and stuff for the story so far, but it's kind of tough. Also, I was thinking... If I reach 100 Kudos, what if I made a youtube channel? I feel like it would be fun. I could do covers of Haikyuu songs as well as vlog and cosplay for you guys? I don't know if you'd like that, but I think it could be a cool idea.  
> Anyways, spring break is coming up soon and hopefully I can update these chapters with less flaws if I have more time on my hands.  
> I hope you guys have a fantastic day, and I hope to see you soon! <3


	7. Treasured Memories

"Okay, so starting off, I'm really proud of you guys and how good the past week has been with all of you working here."

Akaashi, Oikawa's manager of his new job, began giving a little speech as he walked over to the entrance of the cafe to turn the open sign to closed. 

"I'm glad we have a pretty stable and productive group, and I'm also glad that we seem to be taking advantage of what we can do. All of you guys seem to like to work."

As Akaashi walked back, Oikawa watched the employees of his new job smile proudly. Individually, Bokuto was slightly bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, Kuroo was leaning against a table and Suga stood tall with his hands behind his back and an even bigger grin than their manager. 

Oikawa really liked his job so far. Even though it almost seemed that he was unneeded, proof being how well Akaashi, Bokuto, and Kuroo worked together, he was still really happy about being given the opportunity to be a part of this.

"Yes, Bokuto managed to break one of our more expensive dish sets Tuesday and Suga accidentally spilled coffee on that nice lady that walked in Thursday... But we all recovered fairly quickly, and our customers were still pleased with us and our work."

Suga winced slightly at being reminded of his incident, but continued a gentle smile anyway.

"Let's clean up for tonight and go home shall we?"

Everyone around Akaashi nodded and immediately set off to do their own personal tasks. As Suga started to clean tables and Bokuto and Kuroo started stacking chairs on top of them, Oikawa decided he'd be the one to sweep. He quickly went to open a side closet near the back to retrieve a dust pan and broom. When he came back he saw that Bokuto and Kuroo were now jousting with the bottoms of the chairs and he laughed softly to himself, glad to be in a good atmosphere. 

Oikawa wasn't necessarily fond of cleaning his own space at his apartment, but he did enjoy cleaning around the cafe. He liked the colour palette of the location, he liked the aroma of freshly brewed coffee in the mornings and the husky scent of liquor at night. He liked the quiet jazz Akaashi chose to play every now and then, and he liked his co workers. Now, he especially liked the art work Suga had laid around the area. During his sweeping, he had managed to make his way to the deep universe canvas he first noticed. He set down the dust pan and broom to admire it once more, but heard a voice sound from behind him.

"That's Kageyama's work, you know." 

Oikawa was a bit startled from the unexpected arrival of Suga and turned to face him, but wasn't really surprised at the fact that this canvas was Tobio's doing.

"It's wonderful, I'll give him that.", Oikawa said frankly. He looked down at the silver haired boy for a bit, but his eyes wandered to the background were he saw Akaashi chastising Bokuto and Kuroo for being so childish.

Suga instantly pulled Oikawa's attention back.

"I heard the end of the conversation you had with Kageyama the other day."

Oikawa's heart began to beat quickly, but he stayed composed, not letting the former setter see him weak.

Suga shifted his feet nervously, but clenched his hands, determined to make his point soon. 

"I don't know much of your and Kageyama's relationship with one another. All I know is that you guys knew one another in middle school and don't like each other very much now since then. I just want to tell you though, that Kageyama isn't the same from back then. No one is."

Oikawa's eyebrows raised at the direction Suga began taking this conversation, but said nothing.

"Kageyama and I are pretty good friends, and I don't want to see him get hurt again. He's been through a lot, and I don't want him to be as down as he used to be. I know Kageyama is a hard worker just as I know that you are. I don't know whats ever been between you two, but he's been really upset lately, and I'm positive it's been mostly about you. Just please realize that he is a person just as much as everyone else, and contemplate a bit of what you want to say before actually saying it to him. You know that Kageyama doesn't like being called 'king'. He doesn't want it to, but it does spark a dark light in him that he would rather leave unlit."

Suga was now facing Oikawa full front and had his chin tilted up. His eyes were lit with a bright sheen and his entire body set still and composed. Oikawa opened his mouth and closed it, not knowing how to respond.

"All I'm saying, is that Kageyama is a good guy and I think it'd be good for him to not have anymore conflicts. Especially with you... Handle that in anyway you'd like, but just don't hurt him anymore."

Without waiting for an answer, Suga turned around and started to clean tables again, leaving Oikawa to his own thoughts. 

Oikawa a bit shaken, took a seat. In a way, Suga had a point of Kageyama being a person as much as the next guy.

Yet, Kageyama still deemed himself very selfish in his eyes. It wasn't fair at all at how he took as he pleased, and perhaps with minimal effort.

Granted, Tobio seemed much nicer now than he had in the past. It was truly kind of him to allow Oikawa to stay over when he was in the need of it. 

But, this also wasn't the first time Oikawa had tried to befriend Kageyama.

Back in middle school, yes, he was a complete asshole to Tobio, but in highschool, there was a short time he had tried to rekindle a spark between the two.

It was after their first practice match. Oikawa had came in late due to a recent check on his knee injury, and in a grand surprise, he was reunited with his former underclassman. After seeing Kageyama's plays, he was really captivated by Tobio and was determined to make use of this and see if he could spark a friendship.

Iwaizumi called him obsessed, but he had managed to get a few of Kageyama's social medias by pulling a few strings with the first years at the time. Once he gained enough courage, he had messaged him to make plans for the upcoming weekend.

Of course, Tobio was highly weary, but came anyways.

It started off well, Oikawa and him had been to the park. They simply walked around, enjoyed the actions of the other park goers, and even laid in the grass next to each other talking about volleyball.

"The day I'm not able to play volleyball anymore, will most likely be if not the saddest, one of the worst days of my life.", Kageyama had said.

There had been a few more weekends of them spending time together after that, as well as constant phone calls and messages on their medias. As much as Oikawa wanted to deny it, the weekends that had followed were always pretty close to being able to be labeled as dates.

They'd been shopping together, Oikawa had picked him out a navy button up with foxes on it that was 'just so cute', and brought out the blue of his eyes.

They went to the movies together, and Oikawa had done the cheesiest but smoothest job at putting his arm around him while yawining.

Oikawa had even snuck him into the Aoba Johsai campus to take him onto the roof of the school. It was one of his favourite places to watch the stars.

Even though their school was in such a large city, it was far away enough from the city lights to be able to capture a few stars here and there. He had made Iwaizumi go up with him constantly during the summer to look for UFOs, and was happy to find that the telescope he had hid under the parapet of the roof during that time was still there when he took Tobio. 

Though, it was this night that had also became their last till about two weeks ago. 

Tobio had been acting strange the days near that one. He was less respondent and he'd become more hostile towards Oikawa. Of course, Oikawa had tried to fix this using his sweet charm, but even if Tobio had softened up and let down the wall he had thrown up between them, something else had deeply bothered Oikawa and was probably one of the main reasons he had let them grow apart.

Kageyama had begun saying "I" again.

"I will be the last one standing. I will win the game. I will rise to power again. I will show no shame." 

It turned Oikawa off a lot, and he had began to see Kageyama as the lonely, tyrant king once more.

 

It was a while before Oikawa had drifted out of his thoughts.

He realized that the table he sat at was the only one not cleaned yet.

Standing up quickly, he apologized to the others and hurriedly finished sweeping the rest of the cafe before retiring to the employees room, changing, and setting off to the nearby corner store to grab a few necessities. 

 

 

Oikawa quickly strode around the store trying to find some essentials for tomorrow's meal and other supplies for the rest of the week. He threw in of course his favorite milk bread, a carton of eggs, a bag of frozen berries for smoothies, contact solution, juice, and contemplated coffee beans before remembering that he worked in a cafe. 

While he waited in life, he checked his phone for any notifications. Even though he knew he wasn't going to see any, he really wanted a text from 9. He hadn't talked to Oikawa at all the past week, and he was really worried.

At first, 909 had simply stated that he needed a break from all the excessive gaming, and everyone in the guild completely understood. Though, soon, 9 had stopped messaging Oikawa all together, and to his dislike, had left the game unexpectedly. Yesterday, the guild Oikawa was in charge of stated that the player '909' had left the guild. In haste, Oikawa had messaged 9 asking why he had suddenly vanished, but to this current moment, he had no response from his internet friend.

Even though Oikawa considered himself a moderately independent person, he really missed 9. It was days like this, when the thought about the past and was bothered with life, that he would message 9.

Oikawa would usually pull a very philosophical remark on something, and 9 would simply giggle his signature giggle then reply with a statement just as questioning to the universe, or a kingdom hearts quote that would cause the two to end up staying up conversing till 3 in the morning. 

 

After paying and smiling at the old man behind the counter, he set off into the winter night to go home, take a hot shower, and play his game. As he made his way out the door, his arms wrapped around the paper bag he was given as his pinky and ring finger held his keys and phone against the groceries. He walked quietly and quickly through the night, his head bobbing every now and then to see above the bag. As he turned a corner to get to the bus stop, he tripped on the curb and fell to the ground, groceries spraying in front of him.

_Fuck. I hope the eggs aren't broken._

Oikawa quickly began to gather up the items he had dropped but stopped mid reach for the milk bread when he noticed three pairs of eyes on him. Across the street a ways behind him he saw that three guys had stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him. One was a matted blonde with small eyes and an ugly mouth, the other was a more average looking dude with black hair and a slumped posture, behind them, no other than the boy that had been tormenting his existence right now. 

Tobio instantly looked away when he saw Oikawa's gaze rest on him.

Flustured, Oikawa stood and grabbed the fallen items. The two guys that held awfully hostile postures at him drew their attention away when they noticed his tall and muscular build. Scoffing, Oikawa turned to walk around the corner to his stop again when out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde punch Tobio hard in the gut. 

Oikawa smirked.

Tobio upsetting his friends was no surprise to him. In his eyes, the stupid brat deserved it.  

Oikawa turned the corner and walked a few yards to the bus stop. He waited there for a bit, letting his mind drift to what he was going to make for dinner and how he was going to set new formations for his team's latest match, when suddenly he heard a loud cry sound from the dark street Oikawa had just made his way out of. 

He ignored it, starting to get frustrated at the thought of Tobio and his friends having fun, until he realized that the cries coming from the street were actually those of a plead. 

Oikawa set down his groceries quickly and stuffed his keys and phone in his pocket. He jogged to the corner and stuck his head out to see what the commotion what about. 

The 'friends' Tobio had with him had him pinned to the wall of a building.

The blonde was repeatedly throwing punches into Tobio's body and Oikawa cringed at the sounds of his fist hitting his skin and the noises coming out of his mouth. 

After a few more hits, Kageyama pushed himself off the wall, his athletic build attacking the two guys, but it was still one person versus two, and Kageyama was overpowered. 

Oikawa swore under his breath.

Tobio was such a fool, getting himself into these damn situations.

But Oikawa couldn't let this happen.

It was his job to bully Tobio, not these ugly pieces of shit. 

Oikawa sprinted at lightning speed to the action. Kageyama's eyes widened even though they were starting to swell, and the attackers hesitated at the sudden change in mood. 

Before they could even turn around, Oikawa placed a hand to the back of the blonde's head and threw it with serving force into the empty space of wall, right next to Tobio. Oikawa cursed, afraid that he might have actually killed him because a loud and ugly sound released into the air.

The blonde hit the ground with a thud, but Oikawa couldn't worry about that now.

Just as that attacker had fell though, Tobio did too.

Blood ran down the side of his face and out of his mouth, along with a open wound on his knee, viewable from a freshly ripped hole in his jeans.

Quickly, the other attacker jumped on top of Oikawa, sending them both to the ground.

The attacker straddled him and threw a hard punch right into his jaw.

Stars emerged into Oikawa's vision and he felt the sting of a fist echo on his face. 

Oikawa squirmed, and with his strength, managed to get the attacker off of him. Without hesitation, he launched his fist into the attacker's face, but let out a small cry.

The hand he used to hit was the hand he had cut open during his outburst a few weeks ago. He was completely healed, but sadly he did have to get stitches for the wound.

By now he was able to play volleyball again and still do day to day activities, but would be lying if he said it still wasn't sore. He had hit the wall through the glass and had hurt the bones in his hand. Now that he hit something again, it sparked a similar pain as it did that day.

The attacker fell sideways, and Oikawa quickly stood, letting his leg swing full force into his gut.

Once.

Twice.

The blonde who thankfully didn't die, but upsettingly still conscious, pulled himself off the ground.

There was blood running down the front of his head, drying in his eyebrows. Oikawa took a step back, basically seeing a face of a zombie. The man could barely manage to stand, but turned and ran away, stumbling heavily.

At the sight of the blonde running away, the other attacker cursed and rolled away from Oikawa's reach.

Instead of going for another move of attack, he bent over hard and vomited. Oikawa's nose scrunched up in distaste.

The attacker stood, now pale, and ran to catch up with his friend.

The cold air numbed the most of the pain Oikawa was feeling. He felt almost incredulous. The fight that had just occurred felt so quick now that it was over. He didn't even know what it was about.

Annoyed, but glad of his victory Oikawa chuckled.

"Goodbye!", he yelled cheerfully after the two males. He hoped to annoy and even scare those two guys.

After watching the attackers fade small into the distance, he quickly ran over to Tobio who laid unconscious.  

He was still bleeding continuously and his breathing was ragged and shallow. Oikawa considered taking him to the hospital since he wasn't sure what specific wounds were bound to the boy on the ground. But... He didn't know the full situation, and it would most likely be best if he didn't disturb the conflict with anything Tobio didn't want. 

He checked around Tobio's body to make sure nothing was fatal.

No stabs or bullet holes, only a few bruises starting to blossom under his ribs. He checked the blood that oozed out of the boy's mouth, but it was from a cut on his lower lip and not anything internal.

After determining that Tobio wasn't in critical condition, he picked him up in a fire-man's carry. Though he knew it'd be about fifteen to twenty minutes of extra travel, Oikawa decided to walk with Kageyama all the way to his own apartment.

 

 

The journey had been short since most of Oikawa's focus was not on time but Tobio's condition. Oikawa listened to the lengths and deepness of his breaths. He adjusted Tobio every now and then to make sure blood wouldn't rush to his head or that he'd injure him any more. 

When he arrived to his apartment and kicked open the door, he hastily brought Kageyama into the bathroom and sat him on the toilet seat.

Tobio had begun to regain consciousness, but still couldn't speak or properly work right.

As Oikawa turned on the bath he heard Tobio mutter his name gently.

He quickly went to Kageyama and the boy with struggle raised an arm to put a hand to Oikawa's face and smile.

Oikawa let out a shaky breath suddenly filled with emotion.

Slowly, he began removing items of clothing from Tobio's body. He lifted the shirt and bit his lip at the red and purple marks that made themselves home on and under Tobio's ribs. The cut on his knee was much shallower than he had suspected, but he still needed to clean it so it wouldn't get infected, along with the cuts on his arm, hands, and face.

After Kageyama was left in nothing but his boxers, Oikawa carried him gently from the toilet seat.

The injured male let out a soft cry of pain, throwing his arms around Oikawa's neck. 

"You're okay Tobio, I'm here, I'm here."

Subcounciously, Oikawa pressed his lips to Kageyama's temple then gently placed him into the warm water that now filled the tub. Kageyama groaned at the heated bath, dirt and grime beginning to wash away.

Oikawa pushed Kageyama's hair out of his face and grabbed a wash cloth to start cleaning the injuries there. Thankfully, they weren't that big. 

"Thank... You..", Kageyama whispered. His voice was hoarse and shaky. 

"Tobio." was all Oikawa responded with.

Oikawa set down the cloth and placed his hand gently on Kageyama's face, swiping away invisible tears with his thumb. Kageyama closed his eyes and nestled his face into his palm, smiling lightly.

"You... Forgot... Your groceries..."

Oikawa laughed and brought his face close to Kageyama's, whose eyes flickered open. 

Eyes that held stars like the galaxy and blue as the deep ocean held his coffee brown ones. They stayed like that for a while, simply staring at one another, each waiting for the other to do something.

In the end, Kageyama simply closed his eyes again, and Oikawa continued to clean his wounds.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks again for reading another chapter.  
> Even though I know this story isn't perfect, I already have so many other ideas in mind for so many more stories and projects.  
> I want to start work on that YouTube channel, art and cosplays for my tumblr and Instagram, and so much more!  
> I really hope you guys continue to support me and follow me with everything.  
> I'm truly and really thankful for all of yalls support. Without your nice comments and messages, I wouldn't have to drive to do stuff like this. I really do appreciate everything and I want to continue to do cool stuff for you guys <3


	8. Kings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... So, this chapter is a little bit heavy, but not enough to have a triggering warning on the story. Though, I wanted to put this here right before the chapter just in case any of you guys are sensitive to depression or anything like that.  
> I'm sorry if you are, you'll probably just have to skip this chapter and deduct, or I could reply to any questions you might have.  
> Thank you guys for reading this story though, and I'm really so grateful that there are people out there who actually like my writing.  
> I'm not sure if this story will end soon or not. I have many ideas to come, and even though I love this one, it is a bit rough since this is my first fanfic and I would like to work on other stuff too.  
> Anyways, sorry if the chapters are hard to read since I usually write at night and post in the early morning.  
> Thank you again for reading, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!

Kageyama felt surreal. Out of all the ways he'd expect to spend tonight, he definitely didn't expect to spend it at Oikawa's apartment, and more so, his bed. He laid silently on his side, feeling a bit like a burrito, wrapped up in a warm comforter and wearing fuzzy socks Oikawa had slipped onto his feet. In a way, he felt kind of bad. Oikawa really didn't need to see him like this. Oikawa didn't need to risk his safety for his problems and his mistakes. 

Kageyama let his eyes wander around the room which was dimly lit by the street lamps from outside and a computer with a screensaver of Oikawa's and his characters. Kageyama smiled at the screensaver. There had been a lot of good times in the pretty short amount of time they had gotten to know each other over the game. His mind traced back to the first time they had met.

Kageyama was completely new to a game called "Rise." He had heard good things about it from Hinata and Kenma. He had never been one for games, but was a fan of strategy and quests that involved lots of skill and competitiveness. For the longest time he had been a solo player. Whenever Suga would come over and watch him play, he would tease every now and then and call him emo, but Kageyama just felt more comfortable that way. He didn't need to depend on anybody and nobody had to depend on him. Since he didn't have that, especially after quitting volleyball, he really needed something like that as a distraction. 

After a short amount of time compared to other players, Kageyama had made his way to the top of the leader boards and became a pretty known player. Though, as he grew stronger, surprisingly, things had gotten harder. Even though individually his stats were high, it was still hard to take down bosses and take quests that needed other players involved. It didn't matter how much power you put into each hit. It wouldn't matter when you needed that extra push in the back to give way. 

One day, he had been invited to a powerful guild. One of the best in the community of Rise. The leader went by the tag "Fox." At a first impression, Kageyama didn't like him at all. He was cocky, brutal, a bit annoying, and seemed almost manipulative. It wasn't long though, for Kageyama to gain a slight admiration for this character. Fox came off as manipulative and annoying, but in reality he had only been persistent to find the strength of each individual player. As an archer, Fox did his best to learn the skill of each user so that he could open up from the back line and lead them to a high victory. Plus, as a guild leader, he had an attitude of a good king. Something Kageyama determined he lacked. 

Though, as much as Kageyama didn't like Fox at first, Fox hadn't had liked him either. At first, he had been excited to have a new strong player added to his guild, but since Kageyama was an archer, there wasn't much Fox could work with. Fox actually seemed to be put off at the fact that Kageyama had managed to pull the skill of other players out of them better than he could. As a result, the first few weeks Kageyama had been in the guild, Fox had made sure to  _not_ notify him of quests and loots. This kept continuing, and Kageyama was actually considering of leaving, until one day they had been paired to go on a mission together. 

It wasn't necessarily choice. A party of ten had gone on a quest to gather rare items from a boss that did hallucinations and mind altering magic. It was extremely difficult and called for people of the up-most skill and intelligence. The party had made excellent progress, but in a surprise attack in the tower they were in, all of them had died except for himself and Fox. 

They couldn't disband or quit because all of the progress the party had made would be lost, so they continued the journey together. The rest of the quest had been intense. With each level cleared, the harder the following turned to be. He remembered Fox forcing him to join a skype call and the laugher Fox had continuously let out at Kageyama's horrible mic headset. 

Even though they had started at rivals, by 6:45 am of the next day, they had finished the quest as friends. Plus, enough loot to help the guild jump to being the top in the game. They had been forced to work together, and now they had done so many quests together that their names, Fox and 909, were displayed as top archers and players in the main lobby. 

Kageyama shook his mind out of the memories. He felt really dumb now that he knew that Oikawa was Fox. It really was no surprise. They were so both stupidly similar, and Kageyama had been ignorant to trick himself in believing that they didn't share the same voice. 

He supposed the reason had been was because it was such a long time since they had actually spoke to one another. He had been a first year in high school when Oikawa and him had spent time together and now he was a first year in university. Also, at the time, Kageyama was in a pretty poor place, so it was no surprise that he had blocked out most memories from that time. He honestly didn't keep in much touch with any of the Karasuno players after that time.  Once he had finished his therapy, he had apologized to his team, but still didn't go back. Luckily, non of the team hated him. His guess was that Suga had explained the most he could to the team, and they had all been supportive in his recovery. 

The only person he really kept in touch with was Suga. Now that he was reflecting on it, he really regrets not trying to stay close to everybody else. He missed that dumbass Hinata and he missed Nishinoya and Tanaka's humor and he missed going out to eat and he just missed... Everybody.

Though... It was better this way. It was better if he didn't give them hope. There was no way he could have gone back. 

Kageyama rolled onto his back. His body ached, but he couldn't sleep. His mind was jumbled and running fast, he couldn't even concentrate on sleeping. A migraine started to create itself and as Kageyama began to ready himself to embrace it, it instantly vanished at the sound of a doorknob turning.

Oikawa tiptoed in silently. From the entrance of the doorway, he squinted to see if Kageyama was awake or not. Kageyama made no noise as he simply gazed at Oikawa through half closed eyelids. Oikawa, deciding that Kageyama was asleep continued into the room and went to a drawer next to a mirror and guitar. He was reaching around the area, holding onto things for stability like an old blind man. Kageyama realized that a set of black glasses sat on the top of the drawer. Oikawa, after slipping them on, turned to most likely head back to his living room, let out a gasp in shock at the blue eyes staring up at him. 

Startled, Oikawa backed up violently and hit the back of his ankle against the drawer, letting out a swear and hopping a bit. 

"I'm sorry if I woke you Tobio, I came in to get my glasses." 

Kageyama looked up at the brunette in awe and confusion. Hadn't this same Oikawa Tooru tell him to leave his life a few days ago? So then why was he wrapped up in Oikawa's blanket and clothes? Why was he in his bed while Oikawa was most likely making his way to sleep on the couch? 

Since Kageyama had given no response, Oikawa started to make his way out of the room to the door, but was stopped at a call from Kageyama. 

"Wait! Oikawa!"

Oikawa looked back at Kageyama in confusion before turning completely around again and walking to the side of the bed. 

"Yes?"

"I.. Can... Can you stay with me? For tonight. Could you stay?"

Obviously unsure of the request, Oikawa simply sat at the edge of the bed, a concerned look displayed across his face. Kageyama felt a bit manipulative. Perhaps it was the fact that he was injured that Oikawa had suddenly regained all this care for him. But... It could also be the fact, that the past while he had been with Oikawa and had been kind, was a similar to a very extensive amount of time ago. 

Granted, the times they had spent together wasn't anything of particular specialty. But this was different. Now that he had gotten to know this person without the context of their rivalry, it felt pure. He wasn't sure if Oikawa felt similar to this, but he knew that something had to be felt for him to act this way. 

"You deserve to know." Kageyama said quietly. 

Kageyama could basically see the question marks emerge from Oikawa's head and into the air. 

"You deserve to know who those guys were." Kageyama continued quickly. "You deserve to know why i quit and you deserve to know why... Why I pushed you away back then."

Oikawa bit his lip and nervously nodded, bringing his legs up to the bed sitting criss cross. 

"Am I allowed to ask questions?" Oikawa asked 

"Of course. But, I'll start first, Okay?"

Oikawa nodded once more and scooted closer to Kageyama, waiting.

Kageyama slowly sat up and pushed himself against the back of the bed frame and wall. 

"Those guys you fought with bullied me in high school. It's not shocking that they'd try and mug me now, I didn't expect anything more from those guys. Apparently the blonde guy's sister had a major crush on me after seeing one of our matches. He got super bent out of shape about it for some reason and made it a point to rally his friends to mess with me."

Kageyama giggled at the thought of the stupid boys that had followed him around, and how oblivious he was to anything back then.

Oikawa looked off to the side, probably wondering why he giggled, but didn't say anything.

"It started off small but things did manage to escalate. They started physically hurting me at some point, and also were supportive in the act of getting me kill myself. If I'm being honest, back then I might've."

Kageyama gripped the sheets subconsciously, knuckles turning white.

Why was this so damn hard to tell to Oikawa? He had done it multiple times to therapists and Suga, but admitting this to Oikawa was just so different. 

"I... Wasn't in the best place. I suppose it starts with my family. They're not bad people... But they're not parents of the year. I just... It's mostly me, I couldn't live up to their expectations and I couldn't stay in an atmosphere like that... My family, I suppose, are 'elites.' I guess that's why I was a tyrant in my early years. I had a staff I could boss around due to my father's company, and I could have anything I wanted. Though, this also made me work hard at volleyball. I wanted success without aid, so therefore, I really excelled in the sport."

Interested now, Oikawa stretched himself out on the bed. He had his head propped up against his hand and gazing up at Kageyama. 

"My parents supported it in modesty, allowing the late night practices and traveling, though, I believe this was mostly because they were always working, so it didn't really make a difference if they didn't see me often. Anyways, things were going good until they realized how low my grades were. I was called into my fathers office one day, and I remember him slapping me hard across the face, and telling me all the punishments I was to receive if I didn't clean up my act. Apparently, I had already failed at getting into an elite school like shiratorizawa and was a disgrace for being at a mundane school like Karasuno. Obviously, my grades didn't excel as planned, this was mostly due to the fact that my grandfather had passed away."

Without realizing, a tear had fell silently from Kageyama's chin.

Oikawa quickly sat up and scooted next to Kageyama. Without saying a word, Oikawa put an arm around the other boy and let him rest his head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." 

Kageyama's voice was already hoarse, and he felt pathetic. Oikawa looked a bit uncomfortable himelf, yet, this was necessary. There had to be closure.

"He was a very good man, and I loved him dearly. Total opposite of my father. My grandfather was a humble and modest man. He was an excellent boss to his employees and donated a lot of his money to charities. He was the one who convinced my father to buy me a piano and he was also the one to truly support my volleyball career. After his death, everything was so much more tense. The staff had gone quieter and even the air in the household was stale. My father had grown much colder. I was forced to attend more meetings and business trips. I had to miss lots of practice and even competitions, so many that I wasn't the official setter anymore... You can only imagine the toxic relationships I held with everyone." 

Oikawa had begun running his fingers through Kageyama's hair, trying to calm the boy under his arm. 

"I'm glad we got to spend that short amount of time with you, Oikawa."

Oikawa looked down to make eye contact with Kageyama, confusion once again formed onto his face.

"Without you, I would have a distraction to the stress and pain of my days. I was failing, my parents were toxic to me, my only loving family member died, and the team of my favourite thing in the world, filled with all my best friends, hated me." 

At the words 'best friends', Kageyama's voice had broke a bit. Even though he looked pathetic, he didn't care anymore. Tears ran down his face continuously now and he clung to the front of Oikawa's T shirt, as if holding on for dear life. 

"You were so kind. Even after I had begun turning back into the tyrant king." 

Kageyama felt like melting into this touch. He really didn't realize how much he missed human contact, and most importantly, contact with Oikawa. He cautiously tilted his head up to see the warm coffee colored eyes of Oikawa tooru, but after not being able to see through tear blurred eyes, he buried his face in the crook of his neck. Instinctively, Oikawa hugged him and pressed him closer to his chest. 

"When my father had found that we had been spending so much time together, he took me out of volleyball and got rid of my piano. No son of his was to be distracted by random men and taken away from his studies and career." 

Oikawa begun tracing his palm and fingers up and down Kageyama's back, soothing his nerves.

"I had a meeting with different women every other week after our separation. All from successful families with tons of wealth and status. Of course, every single one of them liked me... But, I wanted to escape from them. I wanted to escape from me."

"That is the difference between you and I, Oikawa."

A long pause was held before Kageyama pulled back to look Oikawa in the eyes.

"You are a real king. You treat the people under you correctly and lead your followers to the goal. You work hard and prove to other that you deserve your achievements. You weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth, yet you are greater than I will ever be."

Oikawa sucked in a deep breath. _Perhaps this was something he needed to hear_ , Kageyama thought to himself. He wasn't blind to the rivalry they had shared through out their volleyball career. 

He let himself sink back down and into Oikawa's arms, letting the situation and atmosphere get to him.

"I came home everyday to a family that I hated. The bullying at school was getting worse and worse, from either jealousy or the hell of it. I no longer had friends, no one to talk to. I truly had no stable future. I didn't think I had a future."

Oikawa tightened his grip around the boy in his arms. Kageyama's voice held no expression, and there was no tension in his body. He felt as lifeless as he had back then.

"I tried to kill myself, Oikawa." 

Oikawa tensed at the string of words. Kageyama turned his body out so they faced the same direction. With Kageyama on Oikawa's chest, they breathed together and Oikawa laced their fingers together. A habit Kageyama hoped he'd continue.

"I'm really glad I didn't though. Or else this wouldn't be happening now. I wouldn't have met Suga again. We wouldn't have had breakfast together. I wouldn't have known that I love art. I wouldn't have gotten to play you that song." 

With each phrase, Kageyama's eyes drooped down farther and farther. 

"I pretty much cut ties with my family... Well, perhaps ran away. My mom, bless her soul, slipped me some money before I left home to do my own thing in college. I'm running fairly low now, and rents rough, but I don't regret leaving. 

Letting a breath out, Kageyama was finally feeling the strain of the day, and in Oikawa's arms, his mind and body relaxed much more than it would have on it's own. 

Without the scent of Oikawa's body wash, the warmth of the blankets and tangled limbs, the screensaver of their characters, and their synchronized breaths, Kageyama wouldn't have been able to feel as calm and composed after talking about this.

"I'm really glad you didn't either, Tobio."

Oikawa rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of Kageyama's hand. 

There was plenty more to be said, Kageyama knew it. But, he was so tired after explaining everything. Oikawa didn't seem to mind much that he was drifting farther into sleeping mode. Kageyama took Oikawa's other hand into his own and wrapped them around his middle. With a sigh of content, Kageyama's eyes completely shut.  


	9. Talent and It's Bloom

When Oikawa woke, his body warmed and his chest filled with content pleasure. He was on his side now, his face leaning against his rocket pattern pillow, but in his arms another sleeping human laid curled and tucked tightly into his chest. 

Tobio had his head down against Oikawa, his breaths even and deep. Hair tickled Oikawa's nose a little, but he didn't move so the sleeping boy laid undisturbed. 

Last night began to recreate itself in Oikawa's mind. He was still a bit confused, but glad he had a better grasp on the situation. He gave himself a mental slap. He felt like a complete dick now. He had been so ignorant at realizing that Kageyama was a person with his own struggles too.

Though, even as Oikawa laid happily with this cute boy suddenly in his arms once again, he had questions bubbling up in his mind. 

Why couldn't Kageyama go back to volleyball even after he knew his wrongs? Did his parents know what he was doing or where he was now? How long had he been on his own? Did Kageyama have a job? And now... What was the deal between the two? Were they to become friends? Were they going to take what they were in high school and try to recreate that? 

As if disturbed by the thoughts racing through Oikawa's mind, a soft yawn escaped Kageyama's mouth and Oikawa tensed, hoping he didn't wake him. After watching the boy shift a little, trying to press himself closer into Oikawa for warmth, he concluded that in a way, his questions didn't really matter at the moment.

One answered question though, was that the fight last night wasn't as bad as he thought. He had suspected that is was perhaps a drug deal or a gun robbery.

He truthfully was just grateful that Kageyama wasn't dead and he had been able to fight back. 

Things had been really weird the past few weeks, sure. But now, Oikawa just really wanted to cherish these gentle moments. Kageyama in his arms sleeping peacefully, his warmth spreading through Oikawa's in waves. 

Gently and slowly, Kageyama's eyes started to open and a quiet groan muffled into Oikawa's chest. After a few moments the sleepy boy shifted a little bit, upwards into the crook of Oikawa's neck and wrapped an arm around him to rub circles into his back. Oikawa, pleasantly surprised pulled him even tighter against him, their legs tangling. 

They stayed like that for a while. Each very happy with the sudden closeness. Oikawa was a bit in shock, he expected for himself to be pretty weary of all this contact.

Even though they were something similar like this at some point, it wasn't for very long and it was also a long time ago. But... He felt very excepting of Tobio. He felt like they had been through a lot together. A lot more than just volleyball. 

"We should probably get up soon." Kageyama said sleepily into Oikawa's neck.

Oikawa shivered at the sudden vibration of his voice.

"Probably. But I don't have work today and I really don't want to." Oikawa replied honestly. 

Pulling back a bit, Oikawa took in the sight of the boy. His hair was ruffled from sleep, but for some damn reason, it just made him cuter. Looking a bit closer though, Oikawa could see that he had hints of a black eye and a slight cut on his lower lip.

"How are you Tobio? Are you hurting still?"

Kageyama pulled away as well and laid on his back, arms behind his head. "Hmm. I'm okay. It's slightly difficult to breathe. But I think that's mainly from getting kicked in the ribs and stuff. I think I can stand on my own now as well."

He turned sideways to look Oikawa back in the eyes. Oikawa's sweater was hanging loosely on the other boy's body and he could see the trace of his collarbone perk up. Oikawa's heart started to pound and he swallowed hard.

"Thank you, Oikawa. Thank you for helping me."

Kageyama's voice rang genuine and light. His eyes were bright and he held a small smile. The act made Oikawa feel giddy inside and he quickly responded.

"Tobio, I'm sorry that I was dickish. Truly. Plus, this was the least I can do to repay you for helping me the other day." 

As Oikawa spoke, he couldn't help but gently reach over and intertwine their fingers. He didn't know what was going on with him, but after seeing a lot of the truth, he felt clearer inside, happier. Happy to be with Tobio.

Kageyama's mouth opened to respond, but instead a large growl violently sounded from his stomach, and his cheeks turned red instantly. 

"We skipped dinner last night didn't we?" Oikawa chuckled 

He silently slipped out of the bed and made his way to Kageyama's side lending a hand out and winking.

"Let's go grab some grub, eh, Tobio-Chan?"

 

 

To Oikawa's surprise, during the night while the boys slept, snow had made it's way into town and covered everything at Crown Crow in a powdery white blanket. As they walked side by side, their feet left prints from their shoes, decorating the ground.

When they reached the door, Oikawa extended an arm to open it, but it was suddenly jolted open by a spiky black haired and muscular boy who emerged from within. 

"Iwa-Chan?" Oikawa said in surprise, jumping a foot back to dodge from getting hit by the swinging door.

"Oikawa?"

Iwaizumi held a to go coffee cup in one of his hands, steam rising from the little hole at the top. After giving Oikawa a look of surprise, the expression grew even more at the sight of Kageyama next to him.

"Kageyama?"

"We were just about to head in for some breakfast... Did you want to eat with us?" Oikawa asked

Iwaizumi pulled his arm out of his jacket sleeve to read his watch and sighed a bit, nodding.

"I have to catch a lecture soon, but I'll stay for a bit I guess."

Oikawa smiled at his friend. He hadn't seen much of Iwa-Chan since the night he crashed at his place. Per usual, the two ended up extremely busy and only ever saw each other at practice. 

Inside the cafe, he watched all of his co workers busily make their way around the area, attending to customer's needs and taking care of the establishment. He hadn't expected to even come here today. Chores really needed to be done around his house and he needed to catch up on his school work. He had also planned to talk to the landlord today. Even with a job, rent was getting more and more difficult, and though his family had offered to help out with anything he'd need help with, Oikawa's pride was too strong to ask for help.

As the three boys made their way to a vacant table, Kageyama excused himself, and out of the corner of Oikawa's eye, he saw him walk to where Suga was dripping coffee.

"Kageyama what happened?!"

Oikawa could hear Suga's worry from across the cafe, and when he turned, he saw Kageyama put a hand up to Suga's face to most likely calm him. Oikawa grew a bit frustrated. He knew that Kageyama and him weren't necessarily 'a thing', but after the actions of this morning and last night, he couldn't help but feel his chest twinge.

Oikawa turned back around to face Iwaizumi and noticed that frustration filled his face as well, his eyes laid on the two across the room. 

Awkwardly clearing his throat, remembering that they had gone on a double date with those specific two, Oikawa decided he'd question the situation.

"How are you and Suga, Iwa-Chan?"

Pulled from his glare, Iwaizumi placed it onto Oikawa. He flinched a bit at the stern look from his friend, but then Iwaizumi dropped the facade. 

"Sugawara and I didn't really work out."

Suddenly it was Oikawa's turn to glare. He turned to throw daggers with his eyes, upset at whatever Mr. Refreshing may have done to his best friend, but Iwaizumi tapped on the table gaining his attention back.

"We're still friends Oikawa, don't worry about that. He um, he just told me that he didn't feel like we could be anything more because... Well, he told me that he liked somebody else."

Iwaizumi looked a bit sad, but knowing him, he was a pretty practical and forwards looking guy, so Oikawa simply nodded.

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's not really a problem, we just have different paths I suppose." 

After looking at his watch for the second time since Oikawa had seen him, Iwaizumi began to stand.

"I have to go now Oikawa. I'll see you at practice."

Oikawa threw a hand up and waved goodbye with his brightest smile he could possibly manage. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

As he began walking away a quick figure moved infront of him and the two collided, the to go cup that was once in Iwaizumi's hand, now on the floor. He let out a curse and stumbled back a bit, shocked from the collision.

"I'm so sorry sir, I'll clean this up immediately and get you a new drink." 

Oikawa's manager, Akaashi, quickly pulled a rag from his shoulder and bent down to clean the spill at the two's feet. 

Iwaizumi, who was flustered by the incident stood stuttering, watching the young man at his feet. Oikawa laughed at the blush creeping along his friend's cheeks, and Iwaizumi threw him a glare. After a brief hesitation, he squatted down and let out a light grunt.

"It's uh. It's okay. I was pretty much done anyways, but thank you."

Iwaizumi picked up the cup and Oikawa smirked at the slight flinch of nervousness from his manager as the two boys near the floor brushed hands. They looked up at eachother and it was not only Iwaizumi who was blushing now, but Akaashi as well.

"I-" Iwaizumi had started, but as soon as his mouth opened a speeding Bokuto came bounding from the cleaning cupboard, mop above his head and spinning as if it was a weapon of mass destruction.

"IT IS OKAY AKAASHI! I HAVE THIS TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL, YOU GO DO YOUR MANAGER BUSINESS, I WILL CLEAN!" 

As Bokuto made his way over, the owl like haired boy slipped on the spill and went sliding towards the wall, his entire body smacking against the brick, sending a painting on the wall to the floor.

"Oh my God! For Fucks- BOKUTO!" 

Akaashi stood quickly and ironically picked the male who was bigger than him off the floor, one hand grasped around the front of his vest. In a daze Bokuto began murmuring apologies. 

"What the hell is going on over here!?"

Kuroo emerged from around the corner holding a tray filled with assorted goods, but almost dropped all of them when he doubled over, laughing heartily at the sight of a dazed Bokuto, a spill, and an Akaashi looking angry.

"YOU FREAKING LOSER! HAHAHA! I CAN'T BELIEVE!"

With every shake Akaashi gave to Bokuto, Kuroo laughed louder and louder, causing guests to look over in curiosity at the workers.

Distracted, Oikawa didn't even realize that his friend had already made his way over to him."Pretty boy cafe is one hell of a hectic place."

 

By the time Kageyama had made his way back to the table, Oikawa was a bit annoyed. After Iwaizumi left and the mess caused by the workers had been cleaned, Oikawa watched the Silver haired and Raven haired boys talk amongst themselves, Suga's face all worry and Kageyama's gentle as he explained.

After a couple of more nods from Suga and a brief hug shared between the two, they finished their meet.

Oikawa hadn't realized that he had been frowning until he felt his face shift. Two plates of avocado toast, extremely fancily designed, were set before them. The bread was a crispy golden, and on top of it, a blanket of spread avocado, a poached egg, alfalfa, goat cheese, and a thin slice of smoked salmon. With watering mouths, the two boys licked their chops and picked up their utensils. 

Kageyama and Oikawa instantly dug in. As they ate, they also enjoyed the atmosphere of the happy guests. The staff of this place were pretty crazy, but Oikawa had to admit that they still got a good job done. 'Pretty Boy Cafe', quoted from Iwaizumi, wasn't a bad place.

Once both finished eating, they sat in comfortable silence.

Oikawa tore his gaze away from the busy cafe to inspect how Kageyama was doing, but ended up making eye contact with the other and suddenly looked away, embarrassed.

While looking down, he saw that Kageyama's hands were resting atop the table. Confused but interested, Oikawa noticed that there was a slight tremor radiating from them. He wasn't sure if this was simply from the cold, or perhaps nervousness, but the sight of the ex setter's hands reminded him of what they could do.

Oikawa bit his lip and thought long and hard. He contemplated this decision so hard that he tasted the iron of blood from pressing his teeth too hard into his skin. This sudden shock though, helped him decide what he ought to do.

"Tobio-Chan. I want to take you somewhere."

 

When Oikawa pushed the doors of his university gym open, the musk of the location wafted out and filled their lungs, sparking a familiar mood.

Oikawa had his hands over the eyes of the raven haired boy, but when Kageyama's lungs huffed in a similar scent to his high school days, Oikawa had to move his hands to the boy's waist to help him stand when his knees buckled. 

Kageyama's eyes darted back and forth to examine the gym. His eyes shot at the net, to the seats that surrounded them, traced the lines of the court that patterned themselves on the floor, then rested on the basket of volleyballs that stood waiting for them. 

"Oikawa..." Kageyama said quietly. 

Oikawa smiled and stood infront of Kageyama. He held his shoulders and gave a light shake. The boy had barely noticed the gesture, his eyes past Oikawa's figure, still inspecting the gym.

To be honest, Oikawa was slightly nervous. He didn't know how long it had been since Kageyama had been in a gym, but at this reaction, his guess was that _long_ itself would be a good answer.

Kageyama took a step back towards the door, his breathing quickening.

"I'm sorry, but I can't, I can't, I can't."

He kept repeating that he couldn't and shook his head violently. Quickly, Oikawa took the boy into a firm grasp and ducked down a bit to make eye contact with Kageyama, whose head head now down. 

"Hey. It's okay, you're okay."

Kageyama seemed like a rabid animal. When he looked Oikawa back in the eye, it was distant and far, as if he wasn't actually there.

"This isn't a match, there's no one else here but us. You're okay, I'm okay. Let's just have fun."

Oikawa was now rubbing his thumb gently on Kageyama's shoulder, trying to console him.

After gently removing Oikawa's hands, Kageyama breathed in deep and took a step forwards into the gym.

It almost seemed painful as Kageyama made his way onto the court, his hands shaking harder then they had been in the cafe, but he placed one foot infront of the other, making his way to the basket of volleyballs.

 

The two had spent a solid hour and a half in the gym.

It was difficult for Oikawa to get Kageyama to try and set him a ball, hell he didn't even know how he got him to manage holding one. They had been working on getting Kageyama to set correctly for a while now, but every time a toss had come Oikawa's way, it was sloppy, flying wrong directions and barely making it to his reach.

Oikawa wondered what happened that made this genius setter suddenly... suck.

Kageyama was a God at setting, way more talented than him himself. What was happening? He couldn't have been this out of practice.

Oikawa had bumped a ball to Kageyama expecting another attempt of a set, but instead with a dark look on his face, Kageyama caught the ball and slumped over.

Not only Kageyama's hands, but his entire body began convulsing. Tears were obviously shedding from his eyes and hitting the floor in a stream. Oikawa ran over to him and had barely manage to catch his body as it fell to the floor. 

"This is why! This is why Oikawa!"

Kageyama lifted his hands up into the air inbetween them, almost trying to seperate them.

They shook so violently, Oikawa was afraid they'd fall off.

"I can't set anymore! I'm useless! How am I supposed to help a team when I can't even help myself? This was taken from me, so therefore I have nothing left for this! For what I love!"

The noises of his sobs echoed in the empty gym, rebounding off the walls and crashing back into their ears. All Oikawa could do was hold him.

Suddenly, he felt terrible. Maybe bringing Tobio here wasn't the best idea- no.

This was the right thing to do.

Oikawa knew it.

"Tobio."

Oikawa grasped the hands infront of him and brought them up to his face. He gave a soft and delicate press from his lips onto each one then set them on his jaw.

"Call me an idealist, but I know you are not limited to this."

Kageyama who was still sobbing, but no longer convusling, lifted his gaze to meet the coffee swirls of Oikawa's. The change of tone that covered Oikawa's words felt much different than his usual banter and charm. This felt serious, it felt raw.

"Today might be the day to grasp the chance to let your talent bloom."

With each word Oikawa spoke, his own dark past started to project itself into his mind.

In specific, the day he had lost to Kageyama.

"Whether it's today, tomorrow, next year, or maybe even when you're thirty... I don't know if physique has anything to do with it, but..."

Oikawa pulled himself off the floor,his movements deep and powerful, his words adding to a feeling that felt like regeneration. He, a fallen tree, has rooted itself again, reversing time.

"If you think that day will never come, it probably never will."

Picking up the ball and placing it into the hands of his junior setter, he put his hands on top of his and finished with the last line of,

**_"Talent is something you bloom. Instinct is something you polish."_ **

Kageyama didn't speak for a bit, giving the sudden monologue a moment of thought.

He chucked a bit, then after a few more moments, began laughing.

At first, Oikawa was in a bit of shock, afraid that Tobio had lost his mind, but Oikawa eventually laughed with him as well.

There was no specific reason, but the two ended up just laughing. They continued long and hard, until tears formed at the corners of their eyes and their stomachs ached from the strain.

"You must've really hated me in high school, huh?" Kageyama asked, still chuckling slightly.

"Fuck yeah. I hate geniuses." 

They managed to pull themselves off the floor and Kageyama gave Oikawa a long and hard look. It kind of felt like he was getting judged. For what, he couldn't tell you, but there was a decision being made and Oikawa was a bit scared.

Finally breaking the analyzing stare, Kageyama brought up the ball to his face and breathed in deep, his chest rising, bringing his posture up as well. Oikawa couldn't really explain it, but there was a shift in Tobio's stance that was more than just concentration or hope.

He could physically see the change as prominent as the sun is bright. 

In a sudden move, Kageyama threw the ball to the far back of the court and instinctivley, Oikawa busted after it, his legs feeling moving without thought beneath him. 

When he caught up to the ball and it's distant, a natural and steady recieve was sent flying to Tobio. As the ball flew through the air, he could hear the squeaks of shoes, the shouts of teammates, the cheer of the crowd, and the flapping of wings. Though he knew non of it was there, Tobio's sudden change of mood made him feel like he was in high school again, against his second largest competitor: Karasuno.

It was a perfect recieve and he could see that Kageyama's eyes were on the ball, never leaving it, focused and sharp.

Oikawa took off into a sprint to the net, his legs starting to bend, ready to jump. He'd never been amazing at spiking, he wasn't really a fan of it. But now. Here. He made sure that this was everything he could possibly give... For Tobio. 

Unsurprisingly, the ball made its way perfectly into the shape of Kageyama's hands, and with a almost heartbreakingly simple and easy push, the ball was set. 

He could see the roatation of Kageyama's body, the spin of the ball, and the absolute path it took whizzing in his direction. It was beautiful moments like this that Oikawa was most envious of Kageyama, though now, all he felt was joy.

He knew everything they were doing was quick, but it felt as if the world was in slow motion. Oikawa jumped high, his trained muscles not letting him down. 

He'd always hated the phrase, he's never understood it, but for the first time in his volleyball career, Oikawa felt like he was flying.

With a strong swing from his arm, the ball made perfect contact with his palm. A satisfying sound escaped between the impact, and he could swear that this spike was as strong, if not stronger than his serves.

Everything came back into real time, and the ball hit the floor with a loud slam. 

The rebound was so strong that if there was an audience, it would've hit a few people in the stands above.

When Oikawa's shoes hit the floor he was a bit in shock from the amazing set, but snapped his head quickly to Kageyama.

Kageyama was crying again. But this time with joy.

He stared down to his hands, tears falling onto palms which were no longer shaking. 

Oikawa freaked out a bit when the other boy started sprinting at him, but instantly started spinning him around when he jumped into his arms screaming happily. 

They fell to the floor in a heap of limbs and laughter and tears.

Kageyama looked down to Oikawa, who was now all blush, laughter and smiles.

Oikawa as much as he'd hate to admit it was pretty emotional, but he didn't expect to cry of joy. This wasn't until... Kageyama had let out the purest of all giggles.

Then Oikawa who was all blush, laughter, and smiles, started sobbing as well.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATES AND STUFF:  
> Hello! Per usual, thank you so very much for joining me for another chapter. I hope all of you guys are doing fantastic and are having yourself a great day :)  
> I just wanted to let you guys know, that if you want a bit more than just my writing, you guys could message / follow me on my other platforms.  
> Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube: Rykrae  
> I'm in the process of revamping my instagram, I'm still figuring out tumblr, and there's nothing on my youtube yet... BUT I AM JUST SO EXCITED TO WORK ON STUFF.  
> Honestly, I've been in a lot of different communities, but I really think I want to make myself known in this one. Everyone is so kind and open minded. I really want to be more immersed. Thank you for excepting me and being so nice, you guys really are fantastic.  
> Also! I recently got introduced to a bit of Haikyuu Quest... I AM DIGGIN IT! I'm not going to start a new fanfic yet, but I REALLY want to work with that, it just seems so cool!  
> Again, thank you guys for everything! I hope to see you guys in the next chapter and I hope you guys are enjoying the story


	10. Selenium Forest

It had been five days since Kageyama offered Oikawa to live with him. Oikawa expected himself to contemplate the matter much longer than he had, but to his surprise, he had excepted this invitation with much enthusiasm. 

The brunette boy made his way to his desk and plopped himself into the desk chair. The process into moving in the apartment of his former rival was much shorter than anticipated. The only thing left to move was his bed, desk, computer, and a few clothes and cosmetics he had already packed in two gym bags by the front door. Kageyama was scheduled to arrive to help him at noon the next day, so all in all, everything seemed to be extraordinarily well.

He looked around the room in the minimal shape it stood. There wasn't much of an attachment he had placed with this apartment. Partly because Oikawa wasn't materialistic, but also because after moving out from his home, he had never felt comfortable or tranquil with any other area. 

Moving to Tokyo had been a bit of a strain on his shoulders. Not only were his university classes tearing him apart, but he had missed what the rural home style was like. He missed the scent of days when his mother would bake bread, the days Iwaizumi would come over and watch Star Trek with him, the days when he'd take his nephew out for practice and cheer on his team. He missed _his_ old team... He missed their practices and the ramen hang outs they would have afterwards, he missed Mattsun and Maki. He wondered what they were up to, how they were. 

University days felt much lonelier than in the past. The first year had been rough. It was before Iwaizumi had transferred. Oikawa would spend his days in a pretty horrid cycle. He eventually gave up on studying at some point. It was a constant wake up, have no goals, no purpose, and continue on the months with grades that barely pulled by, with hardly any care for volleyball and no social contact. 

He remembered when Iwaizumi came over for the first time. The place was a mess, and instead of consolation from his best friend, he was greeted with a few punches and a lecture of why Oikawa Tooru should never give up. 

Thinking back, as much as he should thank Iwa-Chan for the help of his revival, he also had to thank 9. 

Like any other college kid, who wouldn't go to video games as a distraction? Oikawa began playing the game not expecting to build friendships, leadership, and goals, but subconsciously, he did anyways. Without 9 and Iwaizumi, he really didn't know where he'd be. 

Oikawa clicked on his computer and loaded up Rise. It had actually been a few days since his last activity on the server, he needed to check on the guild and their progression. A drop for limited quests and goods was about to be held in a few days along with a world wide tournament. He had to make sure to prepare for everything and check on his friends. 

It had grown deeper into the night, and Oikawa found himself in the middle of a solo quest to grind for a bit. He needed to build up his levels in order for the tournament and it was heard that these routes offered strong xp and loot. The area he was in offered public hunts, though, there wasn't much people online right now and to his luck, those on all steered clear from him. Oikawa was pleased with the privacy and was about to land a blow that would kill the creature he was fighting when without warning, a quick arrow took the last hit achievement along with the items dropped. 

"Who the hell!?" Oikawa had began to speak, but at the sight of familiar particles of an original weapon he knew the creator of, he froze.

His close friend 909 dropped from a large pillar in the ruins they were in. Oikawa immediately hit his keys, typing in the public chat uncaring of the other players. 

 

_WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED EVERYONE AND I WERE?_

 

9 messaged him privately.

 

909: _I'm sorry. I've been away on business, and I didn't mean to hurt any of you guys_

Fox:  _That's completely understandable, but that didn't call for you leaving all of us! And you could've responded to my texts!  We thought something bad happened_

909:  _Again, I'm sorry. But I didn't come here to ramble and steal your kill. There's a reason why I came on tonight._

Fox:  _???_

909:  _I won't be joining the guild again. At least for a while._

909:  _I don't mean to give any of you grief, but I think it's personally best for me if I took a step back from everything. I don't mind playing solo, and there's a possibility It'll stay that way._

 

Oikawa was truly in shock. What was happening? Why this, all of a sudden?

 

Fox:  _I don't understand..._

 

909:  _You don't have to.. Again, I'm sorry. I just need time._

 

Before Oikawa even had a chance to respond, 909 logged off without another word. Too tired and confused to go on, Oikawa logged off as well and made his way to bed. He'd better get a good nights sleep if he were to finish moving tomorrow. It seemed that 9 wanted a fresh start, or at least a difference in his life, so maybe it's best if Oikawa does the same. 

Tomorrow was a new start. A new room, new schedule, and perhaps a new aspect to a fresh relationship with another person. Maybe this change of pace was good. Maybe this was just what he needed. 

 

 

"I like it."

Oikawa placed his hands on his hips and smiled at the scene of his new room. The location was much larger than his other bedroom. With main items as his desk in front of the window, bed against the wall, and drawers to the side, it was deemed itself pretty bare. To compensate, since he didn't want his personality stripped from him, he added pictures, posters, and other items around the room and to his walls, along with his guitar perched in the corner and a plant Kageyama gifted him. With no shame, an 'I believe', and 'Star Wars' poster also framed themselves on the painted brick, contrasting with the neutral colours of the area. 

"Me too." Kageyama responded.

"It's mostly thanks to you. Without your help and offer, I'd still be living in that ratty apartment."

Kageyama smiled at the kind words and blushed slightly. 

"So.. What did you wanna do now? You know, as a celebration for your moving in?" Kageymama asked

"Well, seeming as I brought in a T.V... Did you wanna watch a movie?" 

Oikawa shifted between his feet slightly. After a nod from Kageyama, he smiled and grabbed a few DVD's he had freshly displayed in a CD rack near his desk.

"Alrighty, well I get to choose!"  he said.

When Oikawa's fingers made contact with Star War's: Empire Strikes Back, a slight buzzing sound started from Kageyama's pocket. With a small excuse me, Kageyama answered the call, and Oikawa continued looking though DVDs, seeing which one would entertain the two boys the most. 

"Hello? Suga? Yeah. Yes. Mhmm. Are- are you okay?"

Oikawa acted nonchalant, but strained to listen to the conversation, suddenly intrigued. 

"I'm with Oikawa, we finished moving the stuff in. What? I mean, I just can't leave."

A slight pause. 

"I... Okay. I'll see. I'll message you when I find out."

After a beep of hanging up, Kageyama paced a bit before biting his lip and facing the boy with two movies in each hand.

"Oikawa."

"Hmm?", The brunette boy looked up from his rack of movies with an eyebrow raised.

"I uh... Suga wants to take me out tonight and I said I'd see if I could go. I don't want to leave you here all alone, seeing that this is your first day moved in, plus I want to watch a movie with you- it's just that Suga doesn't usually ask this of me, especially if I seem like I don't want to. He just seemed really intent about hanging out though."

A bit disappointed, Oikawa placed two of his favourite films back a bit stiffly.

"It's fine Tobio."

He forced himself to add a warm smile placed on his mouth, then lifted up the okay sign with his hand.

"This isn't my first night here, so I'll be good. You and Suga-Chan should go have some fun!"

"Thank you so much, Oikawa."

Kageyama began making his way out of the room seemingly relieved.

"I just bought groceries, so help yourself to anything in the house. Mi casa su casa, so anything you need is at your disposal."

After the assurance, Kageyama closed the bedroom door with a slight click, smiling with thanks. Oikawa was a little upset at suddenly being left alone in this new living space, but he'd manage. A tinge of jealousy ate at him, but he new that Suga and Tobio were good friends. Plus, there was no reason for him to feel envious. They were simply roomates now and maybe even good friends. The past few weeks had been a massive upgrade from the past few years of no recognition of each other's existence.  Though, even if this was the case, it didn't mean that they were suddenly what they were for a bit in high school. Times change, and hopefully things now were changing for the better. 

 

 

The atmosphere of the club was of another universe. With a high ceiling decorated with intelligently suave lighting, it almost felt as if the length of the club was infinite in every direction. Smoke whirled around Kageyama and separated for his lean figure. Since he couldn't see his feet, there was an illusion that he was floating, and the thought instead of making him nauseous made him feel oddly powerful. Though people swayed and drifted on the dance floor, he could see that majority were grouped around a stage near the back where a live band was performing. 

He didn't know the name of the place, but since Suga had been able to direct them here so clearly, he deducted that he had to have come here often, and if not, at least before. Kageyama wasn't one to go out to places like this often but Suga had wanted to see the performance of this band badly, plus, for whatever reason, there was a plead for Kageyama to attend the event with him. This was a bit unusual of Koushi to be needy like this, so Kageyama found it a valid reasoning in the end. 

Appearing from behind him, the silver haired boy had made his entrance. Unlike the usual light and neutral attire, Sugawara wore an all black outfit for tonight. A dark turtleneck hugged his body nicely, added with black jeans and dress shoes. Kageyama found it a bit cliche to be dressed so pretentiously in a club that played this jazzy, djent music that was currently going on in the background, but for some reason, Suga pulled it off quite nicely. 

As he walked, bright hair shone vibrantly in the dark space. A fair amount of people turned their heads as the boy passed by and Kageyama could understand why. He was completely entranced by the vibes that Suga was emitting. If under a spell, Kageyama followed him to what seemed to be the bar of the location. Caught off guard, Kageyama stayed a distance back as Suga asked the bartender to serve two drinks. 

Kageyama was underage and suspected to be turned down if he showed the information printed on his ID, so he didn't even try, but watched curiously. Suga smiled politely at the man behind the counter and came back in a slow stride towards Kageyama, drinks in hand. He had to admit, Suga looked so damn sexy. It was just fact. The outfit, the atmosphere, the soft smirk but shy blush. It was pretty intense for Kageyama to comprehend. The most incomprehension though, was why Suga was acting this way. 

Delicate pale fingers slipped a glass into his own hands and in response, the younger boy gave the other a look of confusion. 

"Just for fun, Tobio, trust me." Suga said quietly, a soft giggle added afterwards. 

With a tip of the glass as a cheer, Kageyama then downed over half of it. He did trust Suga, bluntly, he trusted him with his life. He expected nothing bad out of this, so with ease, he let himself loosen up a bit and follow the other male to the dance floor after being supplied a few more drinks. 

As they made their way into the deeper fog, Kageyama could feel himself drifting a bit from reality. His cheeks and neck were warm for the alcohol and he felt invincible. A [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fNhD_lP1F4) he didn't know the name of started playing from the live music at the front and he was pleasantly surprised of the sudden euphoric tones radiating from the amplifiers. 

In the dim lighting, Suga looked absolutely mouth-watering. His hair delicately fell in soft strands around his face and Kageyama couldn't help but push it back gently. Though the touch was soft, suga sharply inhaled and Kageyama choked a bit at the reaction. 

As the music avidly progressed into a passionate blend of melodic complexity, Kageyama felt like he was being consumed. The orbit of their swaying bodies closed in so that they were inches away from one another. Alluring fingertips traced sensitive skin, and soon arms were tangled in one another. An angelic smile painted itself on the exquisite form of Koushi's lips. Kageyama was immediately thankful that the angel in his arms had his eyes closed and that the music was so loud because despite his practical intentions, a low grumble tickled the back of his throat. 

The sudden yearn for suga was a tad violent. All of this fervent movement along with stimulating atmosphere was a bit agonizing. He knew that both of them had no undesire for the other, but it was also slightly odd. They had never been like this before, never touched each other this way, never demanded attention like this. But it just felt so good... Perhaps this was a bit gluttonous, but Kageyama was truly enjoying himself. 

They both continued this way for quite some while. Hips rubbing on one another, palms shamelessly sliding around the other's figure, and soft sighs leaving mouths. He almost hated himself for it, but when silver hair tickled the side of Kageyama's face and he felt a fragile caress of soft lips on the wing of his collarbone, want pooled in his lower stomach causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. 

"There is more to this than I originally thought, Tobio."

Flustered from these sudden words, Kageyama grew stiff, killing most of the mood. Noticing the change, Suga looked up with golden eyes. Sincere and almost heart-wrenchingly, the boy gently murmured a short sentence that could've tore Kageyama in half. 

"I'm yours." 

Kageyama let out a long and steady exhale out of his nose, as he portrayed an honest smile of a strained press of his lips. He leaned forwards and placed his forehead against Sugas.

"Thank you, Koushi." 

After excruciatingly pulling them a part, Kageyama stepped back and quickly murmured that he had to leave now, wanting to disappear from the location as fast as possible. 

For a moment, it seemed like Suga wanted to chase after him, but stopped, an arm simply raised out to the raven haired boy who made his way out of the glass doors. 

 

 

Oikawa pulled the towel off his still damp hair from his shower and tossed it on his desk chair. After a quiet yawn he was about to turn off the lights when out of the blue, crashing rumbles and knocks sounded from the main living area. Opening the door of his new bedroom, he made his way down the hall to be greeted to a figure leaning over the trashcan in the kitchen. 

"Tobi-"

Retching sounds immediately interrupted him and he could see Kageyama's body convulse with the force. He ran over quickly to push the bangs out of the other boy's eyes but there wasn't much left after the first sickening spew. 

After he lead Kageyama, who seemed to be intoxicated, to the bathroom and handed him a comfortable set of clothes from the closet in his room, the male asked if he could be gifted with his company rather than sleep alone. 

Oikawa obliged, but was slightly weary of the matter due to not knowing the circumstances of the situation that occurred without him. 

The only thing he concluded though, was that when Oikawa was in this shape, Tobio had offered his kindness, so in return, he would do the same. 

Kageyama had managed to work himself under the covers, but even in the dim light of Oikawa's lamp, he could see that Kageyama was pale and his hands were shaking. They hadn't manage to get rid of that constant vibration completely, but now more than the recent days, they shook with more intensity. 

Oikawa made his way comfortably into bed as well after turning off the lights, but didn't dare to make any contact with Tobio, afraid that he'd scare him away. 

Perhaps it was the alcohol, the dehydration after vomiting, the late night, or even all three combined, but unexpectedly, Kageyama rolled on top of Oikawa and began crying. 

Oikawa tensed at first, not understanding what was happening, but eventually wrapped the boy in his arms. He raised a hand to his head to run his fingers in the black locks to comfort him, but only chokes resulted. 

He didn't understand, but he let him cry. He let him shake and gasp and his T-shirt grow damp from tears and snot. 

The weight of the boy was crushing him, and he felt a little claustrophobic, but soon the sobs of Tobio died down, and he kept his fingers massaging his scalp. He blew a bit of the hair out of his face and suddenly in view, he saw that in glow in the dark paint, stars were scattered across his ceiling. They were beautiful, ranging from different sizes. His own personal constellation. 

A gift, he suspected. With one soft chuckle he turned gently on his side to move the now calmed boy off of him for air. Still staring at the ceiling, he concluded that Tobio would never cease to surprise him. Every time they hung out, every conversation they had, Oikawa was always gripped by the exquisite actions of him. 

When he noticed Kageyama's breaths were deep and even, he pushed back dark strands that fell into his eyes and pulled the blanket up higher to cover his shoulders. Oikawa then reached to bring the boy into an embrace to cuddle and decided to fall asleep right after him, a cozy grin marking his face.  

"Goodnight, Tobio." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading today's chapter. I hope all of you are doing well!  
> For an update, I want you guys to know that I did make a youtube channel! I had a video idea in mind, but I plan to do 'higher quality' stuff on my channel rather than small videos. So... If you'd like, I made a small OOTD inspo [video](https://rykrae.tumblr.com/post/158801095173/kageyama-get-ready-with-me-for-his-dinner-date) of kageyama from this fanfic on my tumblr.  
> Thank you guys for all your support, and I'll hopefully see you in the next one (:


	11. Confessions

Waking up the past week had been more than lovely for Oikawa. Breakfast every morning,  studying with company, cuddling while watching his favourite movies; these were all things he’d never done while he lived alone, but living with Tobio had made these come to life.

Classes had been calming down, and it added to the effect of feeling at home. Tobio, his scent, his giggle, his compassionate words when Oikawa came home after practice dead tired, he truly was grateful that this was his life now. He didn't expect it, but Oikawa found that the two of them fit together like puzzle pieces. 

Though, even as the past while had been well, Oikawa couldn't help but realize that Tobio had a glimmer of sadness in his eyes more than usual the past few days. It hadn't made sense to him at first, but now it was five in the morning and he gently fixed Kageyama's scarf in place, readying him for a trip. 

He thought back to their conversations that led to Kageyama's travel. 

"Suga and I just got into a fight." Kageyama had stated. 

Oikawa made no effort to dig deeper into the matter the first two days, but he knew there was more to it. After his charming pestering and questioning, simply to make sure Kageyama was okay, he found that the majority of the boy's melancholy was due to the date. It was near his grandfather's birthday. This obviously had an effect on Tobio, for he seemed to be more and more somber as the birthday neared. As Kageyama's persistent sadness continued, Oikawa practically forced the idea of Kageyama visiting home to see his grandfather's grave.

After a reluctant agreement and a freshly packed bento lunch Oikawa had made last night, Kageyama now stood in their doorway with a facemask tucked under his chin, almost hidden by his scarf, and a olive green canvas jacket hugging his body. 

As Oikawa smoothed out a wrinkle on Kageyama's chest, he spoke quietly.

"I'll see you soon."

"Of course." Kageyama replied. 

There was a long embrace shared between the two before Kageyama set down the stairs, wallet in hand as he slipped his train ticket inside of it.

"I should be back home later today." Kageyama called from the bottom of the steps. 

Oikawa nodded once, and with that, Kageyama walked out the door, letting in a fresh, cold gust of wind in, pushing up Oikawa's bangs and tickling his nose and eyes. 

Oikawa didn't know why they were being so dramatic over the powering for the short day trip, but for some reason, it seemed to be a mutual agreement that the length of the trip was going to be long for the both of them. After spending so much time together since Oikawa had moved in, the thought of being a part for more than the few hours Oikawa went to work felt abnormal. 

At least he'd be back tonight. With that thought, Oikawa was already ready to snuggle up the other boy on the couch, ready to listen to the day's adventure and maybe sneakily lace their fingers together when a glint of excitement coursed through Kageyama's eyes. Oikawa was so ready.

 

Kageyama looked down onto his phone screen examining the recently sent messages.

Today was the day. He was going to tell him. It was a bit cliche, but Oikawa believed that he had the best idea of how to confess to Oikawa.

Nerves tingled the back of Kageyama's neck but he knew that Oikawa wouldn't respond harshly. They had something good going. He wasn't sure what that specific good was, but what he did know is that there was a spark between the two. Romantic or not, Kageyama knew that Oikawa was someone he couldn't let go, could never be without. Life together felt right.

A silent buzz numbed Kageyama's hand for a second, he pulled up the brightness on his phone to read a text sent to him clearly under the florescent bulbs in the train.  

**Akaashi: Hey Kageyama. I got the location of the area and the thermos and tape is set up.**

**Akaashi: Don't worry about 'paying me back'. I've come to like Oikawa the past week and a half he's been living in the building, of course, as well as he's been working with me. You've done me plenty of favors too for taking care of Kuroo and Bokuto. Hope you have a safe trip.**

With a chuckle Kageyama sent a quick response to Akaashi, then slipped his phone into his pocket and leaned back into the chair. He looked out the window and sighed.

He hoped Oikawa would enjoy the surprise. This was best he could do at his last minute impulse decision. 

 

Oikawa checked his watch. Both hands pointed towards the six. Six thirty. 

Oikawa yawned as he began pulling his shoes on. He decided that he'd be early to work today. There wasn't much else to do anyways, he couldn't go back to sleep after sending Kageyama off earlier, and the coffee he just made added extra alertness. 

The walk had been brisk, mostly to escape the sharp cold. When he entered the cafe, the only person that stood inside was Akaashi behind the bar, wiping a glass. 

"Hello Oikawa." Akaashi spoke, unsurprised. 

"It's a bit early, isn't it?" He continued. 

"Ha, yeah, it is. There wasn't much else for me to do today, so I thought I'd come in early." Oikawa responded truthfully, a hand reaching up behind his neck. 

Akaashi looked around the empty cafe then set the glass upside down. "Well, it seems that we're not all that busy today."

Oikawa looked around too, a bit questioningly at where Akaashi was leading this. 

"How about you take the day off?"

"I couldn't." Oikawa responded quickly. 

"Bokuto and Kuroo already took the day off as well to go watch that new horror film together, I couldn't leave you by yourself." Oikawa continued.

"It's fine, Oikawa. You deserve it. Really."

Oikawa gave a pleading look as if he was in pain from the compliment. Akaashi simply chuckled at the reaction and rested his palms atop the bar and sunk a bit down, his shoulder blades rising. 

"Okay, how about a deal?" 

The look on Oikawa's face only deepend into more confusion as he waited for an explanation. 

"I need to run some errands, but since I'll be here, how about you do them for me?" Before Akaashi even finished his sentence, Oikawa nodded his head up and down quickly. 

"Haha! Okay!" As if planned, Akaashi pulled out a list and slammed it on the table, grinning ear to ear. 

"It'd be best if you could do these before this evening. Oh! Go ahead and come back to the cafe later as well, I have a surprise."

With a determined nod Oikawa made his way out, list in hand as well as a few other items given to him.

 

It was now afternoon and Oikawa tiredly spread himself out on a bench at the metro station. Oikawa knew what he was asking for when he decided he'd do this for Akaashi, but he didn't expect Akaashi to be so ruthless with the demands placed upon him. He was glad he was doing this though. Akaashi was a hard worker, and if he wasn't the one doing this now, he knew that the other male would be. 

The list had started off fairly easy. He picked up some things from the store; Bokuto and Kuroo's hair gel, milk, eggs, bread, toilet paper, along with that he got some other stuff for him and Kageyama. When he got back to their building, he used the key Akaashi had gave him to open their first floor apartment to put away the items as well as feed their cat, pick up clothes from the living room, vacuum, and water the plants. 

After doing chores at the house he dropped off some mail at the post office. There was an old woman behind the counter who had no problem in pinching his cheeks and talking about her grandchildren. Of course being the nice young man he way, he also did his best not to lose patience when she stepped on his feet repeatedly when she came around the desk to feel his hair.

After that he went to Akaashi's brother's house to drop off a jacket that belonged to him along with the spare house key Oikawa had used to get into the apartment. His brother ended up inviting him in and Oikawa almost damned himself for being so kind. He ended helped him move Akasshi's brother's newly purchased couch up two flights of stairs into his small living room space.

Once that was done, Oikawa met up with Kuroo and Bokuto because Bokuto had left his wallet and metro card at home. The two boys had tackled Oikawa on sight and were wrestling and ruffling his hair in the cold, busy streets, making pedestrians glance down at them in curiosity. After that, they continued the fiasco by taking his own wallet, and somehow forget that they took it, causing Oikawa to meet up with them again thirty minutes after to retrieve it. 

As Oikawa tiredly leaned back, thinking about his hectic day so far, a sudden buzz tickled his thigh, and he reached into his pocket to fish out his phone.

**909: Hello Fox.**

**909: I know this is a bit odd, since we haven't spoke in a while... But, I want you to do something for me.**

**909: This may be unfair of me to ask this after our long period of no communication, but I need you to trust me. You reside in Tokyo, yes? Well, I'm visiting the city for vacation, and I want to meet you. I'm sorry for the suddenness of this, but this is the best I can do for this situation.**

**909: _link -_ Go to this address. If you tell the front desk your name, the rest will be clear. **

Oikawa stared at the screen intently, his moth slightly agape. He didn't know what to think. He rubbed his face in frustration and sent a text back questioning the request. There was no response and Oikawa only grew more frustrated. He wondered why Nine thought this was okay, why he thought he could use Oikawa like this. Oikawa was no toy, and it was completely unfair for him to do this. At one point, Nine was the only friend Oikawa talked to, he was the only person that could pull him out of his darkness- and he left. He left like it was nothing. 

Oikawa stood and opened up the crumpled paper from his pocket. The last thing on Akaashi's list was to visit some ramen restaurant and order four dishes for later that evening. He shoved the paper back in his pocket and got ready to enter the upcoming metro car that was heading to the location that was scribbled onto the paper. There was no way he'd go. No matter how badly he wanted to meet Nine, to see him, to hear his voice clearly, his pride was too strong for that.

After the quick ride of being squished between other city dwellers, Oikawa made his way up onto the street where the ramen shop was supposed to be. He wandered up the street and saw a tiny shop with big red letters. Oikawa looked at the address and saw that the two matched. 

To be honest, the only reason he saw the little shop was because of the giant building next to it. The sign, posters, and advertisement outside of it all labeled it as a planetarium. Granted, it wasn't as cool looking as the Nagoya one he saw pictures of, but Oikawa was a sucker for space and the stars, and he really, really, wanted to look inside of this one. 

Stopping himself from entering, Oikawa came back to reality and turned to the ramen shop, walking inside quickly. 

It was little in the inside as well, but there was a hearty amount of people inside of it, bodies crammed together, all on top of steaming bowls of food. Oikawa's stomach rumbled a bit at the sight and contemplated buying a bowl for himself, but he'd really had to get home soon. He had no idea what time Kageyama was supposed to arrive home and he had also promised Akaashi he'd come back to the cafe as well. 

"Welcome!" 

A small blonde with a half side ponytail smiled greatly at Oikawa.

"How may I help you today?" the girl continued. 

Oikawa reached for the paper in his pocket with the orders but stopped suddenly. The girl infront of him seemed oddly familiar. He leaned forwards and squinted, reading the nameplate on her apron. 

"Yachi?" 

The girl continued to stare back, now a bit confused, but then her face shifted and realization flooded into her eyes.

"Oikawa-San! Hello! It's been such a long time!"

So Oikawa was right. This girl was one of Karasuno's old managers. 

"It's been a while Yachi-Chan." Oikawa chuckled. 

"It really has been! Have you stayed in touch with anyone? Well, I know that our schools weren't that close, but I do assume you're still playing volleyball."

Yachi smiled wide, her big eyes looking up into Oikawa's.

"I am." Oikawa chuckled again. "And, I have kept in touch with some members. I, uh. I actually live with Kageyama."

Yachi dropped the pen and notepad she was holding and leaned over the counter, gripping the front of the counter deathly hard and stared wide and surprised. 

"You what!? I haven't spoke to Kageyama in years! Years! How are you guys still talking?! Is he playing volleyball?" 

The girl continued to ask questions rapidly and Oikawa tried his best to respond. In the end, he did manage ordering, but only after getting death glares from the customers behind him and doing his best at responding to all of Yachi's questions and remarks. 

"We all thought Kageyama had truly left us." She had said silently. "He never came to school anymore. He would be gone weeks at a time, and every time he came back, he looked worse and worse." 

These words had burned into Oikawa. He couldn't imagine Tobio in the place he once was. He had seen him cry and shake during their little incident in his university gym, but he'd never truly seen Kageyama depressed. When Oikawa thought back to high school, the only thing he could remember from Tobio was him as an angry king, calling Hinita a dumbass, or being shy on their 'dates'. 

He hoped he'd never see the day Kageyama was depressed again. He didn't want him to be in that position, to the point where one would take their own life.

Trying to rip himself away from dark thoughts, Oikawa pulled out his phone. When it unlocked, it opened to the messages he had recently shared with Nine. Out of curiosity he clicked on the link. He let out a soft gasp at the website that opened up. It was the planetarium. Oikawa contemplated it, then he slapped himself across the face, getting a strange look from a family eating their food across from where he leaned against the wall.

 _No, no, no , no_. He mentally exclaimed.

Oikawa looked down at the link then out the window to catch a glimpse of the building next door. 

"Ahhhhhh... What the hell?" He said outloud. 

After waving goodbye to Yachi, he made his way out. 

 

When Oikawa walked inside, he went to the counter as instructed and told a worker his name. It was a skinny kid with thick frames and dark cropped hair. He led Oikawa to the small, single room he suspected was the main area of the planetarium. Oikawa walked inside by himself, unfollowed. No other soul accompanied him within.

"Hello? Nine?" He said aloud. Oikawa took a few more steps inside, closing in into the centre.

There was no response, but once he reached the middle of the area, the entire ceiling lit up, above him stars danced. An entire universe began coming to life in one small area. It was astounding. 

When Oikawa looked up, he almost felt as if he was falling- no floating. The celestial space surrounding him seemed to eat him up, and he felt like he was swimming through the cosmos. He felt limitless, he felt free. The immeasurability of the ceiling was thoroughly impressive. Individual spots of light patterned the dark background, names of constellations and planets began emerging into his mind. At first glance these stars may have seemmed to be fussy, improper, and messy patches of light scattered across a dark, blank canvas, but to Oikawa, he could see the clocklike pattern of these lights. 

Oikawa lifted his arms out, trying to touch the sky, even though he knew he couldn't. 

With a laugh he spun around, his jacket spinning with him, the tail flying. He ran around in circles, pointing out his favorite constellations and blabbering knowledge that was probably more detailed than the tour guides to no one. 

 In his frenzy of excited emotion, Oikwa nearly ran into a tall stool in center of the area. Two items lay on top of it. One, a silver thermos with a note attached to it, and the other, a cassette player to the right. 

Oikawa walked slowly and deliberately to the stool. He plucked the note from the thermos and opened it with shaky hands, his emotions getting the better of him. 

_Dear Oikawa, I'm sorry I couldn't be there in person. I truly hope that you are not angry with me. I've been sincerely meaning to confess and explain this to you properly, but I have been afraid and a coward. Please forgive me for my recent actions, in all ways... The tape will explain the rest. I know, a bit old fashioned of me to use tape, but I think we can both establish that I like vintage, artsy things._

Oikawa wondered how Nine new his name. There was confusion, but Oikawa had a slight hunch. He breathed in deeply, pulled his hand up to push the tape in and paused. He bit his lip, closed his eyes and pulled his hand away. He couldn't explain why, but this was making him feel extremely sentimental. Why was this so difficult? 

Oikawa kneeled down and stared hard at the machine. 

"Nine." Oikawa said aloud. He didn't expect a response, but he needed to hear the name.

The first thought he had once he said this word out loud was not the many quests and games they had played, but the three in the morning conversation they had had the night Oikawa had thought himself truly worthless for the first time in his life. 

"What's the point in living?"

Oikawa had said it as a joke, though, in the back of his mind, and perhaps in the quiet break in his voice, there rang a true hint of wonder.

"Fox." Nine had said. His mic filled with so much grain, it hurt Oikawa's ears to make out what he was saying. 

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

There was a slight pause, and the humor was killed. Oikawa could feel the back of his eyes beginning to sting. He had been having a rough day already, the only reason they were skyping was because Oikawa needed a distraction. 

"I know you've been struggling lately. I can tell, it's a bit obvious. But that's okay. Sometimes we need to be weak, in order to see that we can grow." 

Oikawa laughed a bit hysterically, this laugh was no longer at the teasing of Nine's headset mic, but at himself. Oikawa was laughing at himself, laughing at the dirty dishes taking up every empty space, the smelling sheets, the unused athletic clothing.

"I know that sometimes it's hard to forget, but we cannot stop fighting. We have to continue to do so, through the pain, through our efforts. Do you know why?

Oikawa thought he knew the answer, but for some reason it wasn't entering his mind. He couldn't except it. He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember why he fought. 

"There's only one reason why we chase our goals."

There was another pause, and Oikawa could hear Nine take in a strained breath, as if this was not just a reminder for Oikawa but for him himself. 

"There's only one reason why we continue fighting." 

Oikawa bit his lip, drawing blood, the bitter iron mixing with the sudden salt from the tears he couldn't stop from falling from his eyes. 

"It's because we haven't lost yet."

Oikawa drew himself naturally back into the present, his eyes clearing and focusing back onto the old cassette player on the stool. In one swift fluid motion, he pushed down the tape and closed it. There's a slight click and he can hear the rotor beginning to move.

For a bit, he can hear a silent breath pattern in the background. Oikawa moved his position to sit crossed legged and put his head in his hands, elbows on his thighs, waiting for audio to stream out.

"Hello, Oikawa."

Oikawa takes a sharp intake of air. His hunch was correct. The smooth, deep, and lovely voice of Kageyama Tobio makes its way to Oikawa's ears. Oikawa can feel his chest tighten, his breathing intensifies and he waits. 

"As you know, I'm out of town. Perhaps it's cowardly of me to not do this face to face, but I couldn't bring myself to do it any either way." 

Oikawa can hear a strangled breath of frustration, he can tell that Kageyama doesn't know what to say next. 

"I wanted to tell you. I really did. But... I was afraid that the Nine that you have come to like in game wouldn't be the same as me, Tobio." 

Hearing him say his own voice, Oikawa repeats it out loud, a slight break in between it. 

"Just as Nine Zero Nine and Kageyama are two different people, so is Oikawa and Fox. Whenever Oikawa saw Kageyama, there was always a hatred. Whether from rivalry or anything else, it was just a strong resentment, I don't know, but I couldn't bare it. I couldn't stand watching you hate me when I knew the truth. The truth of Fox and Nine's friendship. Every conversation Fox and Nine had was pure and lovely. You were always happy, always excited. And I..." 

Kageyama's voice cracked, and there was a sob. Oikawa felt like his heart was tearing in half. He had made Kageyama feel hated, feel like he couldn't trust him. 

"I stuck around long enough to see Oikawa come to like Kageyama."

Oikawa lifted his head from the floor. He picked up his legs and put his chin on top of his knees, intently listening. 

"Thank you for being my friend, Oikawa. Not just as Fox to Nine, but to Oikawa to Kageyama. I thought you hated me. I thought that my life long idol despised me, but the past few weeks, you've been more than kind to me... We're even living together now!"

Oikawa didn't realize it, but he had been crying. He wasn't sobbing like the boy in the tape, or even shaking, but he could feel warm trickles of his tears slide down his face, staining the knees of his pants. 

"The thermos." Kageyama continued. 

"It's filled with coffee. You and I both know I can't cook to save my life, but I can brew a nice pot of steaming coffee."

There's a sniffle then a chuckle. 

"Thank you. Thank you for not just saving me from those assholes, re teaching me how to set, cooking me breakfast, showing me films I never would've seen without you, helping me with homework, but everything else that goes along with that; Thank you for saving my life when I was getting beaten, thank you for helping me break through my limitations and helping me find the reason why I'm still fighting, thank you for taking care of me when I make rash, impulsive decisions that hurts me, thank you for being my friend."

Oikawa pulled his hand up to his mouth to hold in a choke. Now that he knew, now that he knew that Kageyama was Nine. Now that he knew that Kageyama had been his saviour for longer than he thought, he was completely overwhelmed.

"Thank you for caring for me even though I am Kageyama Tobio, and not the amazing top ten archer Nine." 

One last shuddering breath is took and Oikawa can hear Kageyama's giggle. It rings delicate, like the twinking of bells, like falling water, like the stars that shoot across the ceiling above Oikawa. 

"I'll see you soon, Okay?"

There's a beat of silence and then the tape finishes, the motor cutting out. 

"I'll see you soon." Oikawa says out loud, he says it as an agreement, a known fact. He will see Kageyama, Nine, the boy who had saved him multiple times, very soon. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, first, per usual the upload is pretty late, so I'm sorry if I messed up any grammar.  
> Also, I have actual ideas for this story to lead into. I'm sorry if the last few chapters have been pretty random, but hopefully it's still enjoyable. Thank you guys so much for readin, and hopefully I catch you guys next time
> 
> Edit- For anyone that read that before I edited all the mistakes... I am so sorry. 
> 
> Also, the chapter was completely written off of the ['your name' soundtrack ](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH7NDzTTIhpyloaIMMf1l6_YylnJ9RhQd)


	12. White Lillies

* * *

Kageyama stood at the top of the cemetery's hill. It was cold out, but he had made it into town in the afternoon, all the frost that had grown upon the grass and stone now melted.

Kageyama looked down onto the rest of the land. There were plenty of stones lined up, layers of them, but they faded down into empty hills, then to a few trees, then his home town.

He smiled, nostalgia suddenly eating at him. He missed home.

Kageyama didn't miss the arguing of his family though, didn't miss the dark atmosphere of the large building, didn't miss the way guests would try and manipulate him.

He missed was his friends, the late night practices, the rural land, the steamed pork buns, and even his dumb classes. That was home to him. 

He placed a single hand down on the cool stone.

The area was more packed than he last remembered, the only grave that was upon this hill used to be his grandfather's. He tries not to pay any attention to the stones nearby, focusing on the script that is chiseled in front of him.

"Hello, Grandpa."

Kageyama made himself comfortable on the cobblestone path, pulling out a thermos and two mugs. After pouring the hot brew, releasing steam into the air, he set one on top of the stone and then held the other with both hands, letting the warmth travel through him. 

"I made coffee for us today."

He pauses, licking chapped lips, trying to think of what to say.

"I made some for Oikawa-San too."

Kageyama took the beanie off his head and pushed his fringe to the side. 

"It's been a while since I've talked about him, hasn't it Grandpa? It's been a while since I've talked to you." Kageyama says that last bit slightly strained. 

"I-I'm sorry I haven't visited since I graduated high school. I just couldn't come back here, I couldn't bare it anymore, not after what I tried to do."

Kageyama blinks a bit, trying to swallow his emotions down, but it's been too long, too long since he's let it all out to the one person in his family that actually listened. 

"I guess. I guess things have been good, better at least. Suga and I are struggling a little right now, and I'm afraid he thinks I hate him, but I don't. He's my friend and I really care about him grandpa, it's just that he tried doing something the other night, and I just don't know how I feel yet."

His mind wanders to his friend for a moment. There's a flash of grey hair and copper eyes that make him smile a bit, it's followed by the sound of honest laughing and the image of a dimple nearby a beauty mark. 

"He's such a good friend grandpa, he's helped me through so much. Suga is the only person rather than you that has bothered to listen, bother to try and save me."

_save me._

"I think I found someone else who cares too... Oikawa-San saved me the other day, Grandpa."

Kageyama runs a hand through his hair.

"Those bullies, they  found me again, but Oikawa saved me from them. We're even roommates now! Can you believe it, grandpa? I would never have thought life would end out so much better. There was a few arguments that led us to where we are now, but just in the past week, we've gotten pretty close."

Kageyama blushes slightly, remembering strong arms that have wrapped around him, brown hair that has tickled his neck and face. 

"There's a lot of stuff about him I didn't realize in high school. I think it's mostly because I wasn't ready to be in something like that. I was just trying to get by, but there's no way I could try and care for another person when I couldn't even care for myself. I guess it makes sense why he was so mad. I guess I kind of used him."

He shifts a bit, shoes scraping at the green moss that has formed in the cracks of the cobblestone. 

"We seem to be both touchy people, so it's normal for us to end up on the couch, not thinking about personal space. I'm so glad you've always supported me with that, imagine what we could've been like in high school if I had your permission rather than dad's."

There's a bit of sadness in his eyes, but then they light up when he hears a humming in the back of his mind. 

"Oh! The other day, he was making us breakfast before our morning classes, and he started humming. I didn't realize it earlier, but he hums a lot. He hums while walking, while cooking, while he's studying, while doing laundry- sometimes I'll hear him in the shower. He just always seems so happy, so ready to be there. He's such a hard worker, grandpa, you have no idea."

Kageyama thought back to the brunette, the time he playfully called him a dumbass for falling asleep on the kitchen island for studying too hard, a bit of milk bread sticking out of his mouth as he snored. 

"Sometimes I think he doesn't have a limit, ya know? But then, sometimes when It's too hard for both of us, he's the first one to pull the book out of my hands and wrap a blanket over us on the couch. It was like, in such a short amount of time, it already felt like forever... And I mean, I guess it kind of has been." he says, softly. 

"I made friends with this other person right when I left home. He went by Fox..." 

Kageyama goes on about the tales of Nine and Fox, the fights between warlocks, other guilds, and everything the fantasy world of Rise offered. After that, he went into how college was going for him, how his basics were eating him alive and how he had turned down a scholarship but it turned out that it gratefully ended up in Oikawa's grasp. He talked about Suga and how he and Oikawa were working with his neighbors in a cute cafe, he talked about how nice his apartment was and how nice his new friends were, he talked and talked and didn't stop till the coffee was drained from his mug and the other sat cold, matching the temperature on the stone.

 

 

Oikawa sat alone on the bar, stirring his glass of water with a straw. The shop had managed to have itself a quiet day for the first time in a while. Akaashi was still working and there was only a few people scattered about, mostly at tables and cornered away in booths. 

Akaashi came back to the bar and leaned against the counter in front of Oikawa.

"Thank you for taking care of all my dirty work today."

Oikawa flashes a bright smile but he can feel that his eyes are still tired. 

"It was a pleasure Akaashi-Kun. I have to admit, it was tiring, but... I had fun, I really did."

Akaashi smiles at that and then pulls out his phone, speaking again while his fingers type rapidly against the screen.

"That's good then, I have some more fun to add to your plate."

Oikawa's brows furrow in confusion, not understand the reply.

"The surprise I had in store for you just arrived." 

There's a soft ringing of bells and Oikawa turns around, his heart picking up pace, wondering what his surprise could possibly be.

"Iwa-Chan?!" The name comes out high pitched, and obviously disappointed. 

"Wow, Nice to see you too, Crappy-Kawa." Iwaizumi replies, his mouth perked up into a half smile.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my Iwa-Chan? Iwaizumi is never this happy to see me." Oikawa responds quickly

"I'm the surprise, but let me tell you, I have some added guests to the list."

"Wha-" before Oikawa could respond, Iwaizumi is pulling him by his wrist and is leading him out the door.  Oikawa doesn't miss the shared smile of his manager and his best friend but he doesn't have the chance to focus on it before he's thrown out into the evening air, the setting sun temporary blinding him. 

His eyes finally focus and they land on two other people. There's a quick "Hey, bud." followed by a "Yo, Captain." and then suddenly he has no time to react before he's shoved between tangled arms and warm bodies. 

Oikawa feels his chest tighten, he lets out a gasp and all of a sudden he's hugging back, letting out excited noises and tackling Mattsun and Makki and Iwaizumi on the ground, pulling them all into his tight embrace. 

"Aw, come on cap', I didn't expect you to be this sappy." Makki says, ruffling Oikawa's hair and then gently pushing him off of them.

All of them manage to pull themselves up and while dusting himself off, Oikawa questions the two boys.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure of your visits?" he says, throwing in his annoying yet charming tone.

Mattsun pushes Oikawa gently on the shoulder and lifts up a bag of take out along with a six pack of beer from the cafe itself. 

"Well, since you were so kind to order us some ramen earlier, we decided we might as well eat it with you."

 

 

Kageyama pours out the now cold coffee to the side and begins to pack things away within his bag. As he fiddles with the straps and moves things around so that everything fits nicely within, the sudden silent tapping of shoes on the cobble startles him.

He looks up in the middle of a battle against the two mugs and sees his father staring down at him two to three yards away.

"Tobio?"

Terrified, Kageyama zips his bag up quickly and begins to stand, trying to dash away.

"Wait!" His father says, the sudden urgency and plead that laces his voice is too much for Kageyama, and he stops his rushed movements to slowly face his father.

He looks terrible. Not unhealthy or ugly, but dead tired. The dark marks under his eyes are _almost_ hidden by the expensive trench coat and hat, his pale expression and aged hands are _almost_ hidden by the shining watch and leather shoes. 

Kageyama wanted to run away, he would've went until he couldn't feel his legs and his lungs couldn't push and pull anymore, but... But his father was at his grandfather's cemetery, holding his mother's favourite flowers, white lilies, and pleading him to wait. 

"Where- Where have you been?"

It was a pathetic question, and Kageyama couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. Hadn't his father even tried to spend some of his precious wealth on hiring spies? Did he even care that Kageyama was in college now? That he had his own apartment? That he gained new friends? Would he care at all?

Anger bubbled deep within Kageyama, and he couldn't help but to be hostile. 

"I left. Like you told me to."

Kageyama's father flinched at the words, the lilies' stems crushing slightly in his hand. 

"Tobio, I just, I just."

Kageyama was freaking out slightly. He'd never seen his father like this, never seen his lip tremble, never seen him look so _human_. 

"Please come home."

The words seemed to have slipped out of is father's mouth, for he brought up a hand to rub at his mouth and chin, distaste at his impulsive request. 

"I-uh." Kageyama was shocked, this was true, but he was infuriated too, near the brink of breaking something or someone rather. 

" _What?"_ The word came out much more wickedly than intended, causing his father to flinch. 

"Did you just think- just think I'd come waltzing back?" He followed the sentence with a chuckle, but there was no humor within it.

Kageyama was so tired of it. Tired of his father thinking that he ruled him. The past year, he'd been taken perfectly good care of himself. He'd manage to make a life of his own, a life that he cared about, and it held nothing to do with his father. 

"God Damn it, Tobio! I just-"

His father seemed an entirely different person. The way he paced, the way his voice was cracking. Kageyama didn't think he knew the man. 

"Just. Please. One week!"

His father stopped and stared at him dead in the eyes, panic of rejection rising in them.

"One week, just give me one week." 

Kageyama paused and took in a breath. He honestly didn't know what was happening right now. Who was this needy man in front of him. Who was this man that begged for his company and held flowers in his hands visiting family, something Kageyama was sure he didn't know about. 

Kageyama bit his lip and then sighed. He looked down to the grave. In his mind he saw dark blue eyes, almost like his, but older, happier, wiser. He saw his grandfather. Looking up to make eye contact with his father, he gasped slightly. 

He saw it in his father's eyes. Somewhere behind the tiredness, the cold filter, he could see the plead of his grandfather's eyes within his father's.

"I." Kageyama had started, an obvious pain attached to it. 

He felt himself leaning away from the idea, a voice in his mind telling him to get the hell out of there and run back home to his friends, to lock himself up in his art studio, to play his piano, to go to the cafe to see Suga and Oikawa. 

God, how bad he wanted to see Oikawa. He wondered if he found out yet about him, about them. He wondered if he knew the truth behind Fox and Nine. 

His father stayed silent, waiting for a response, worry attached to every part of his expression. 

"Fine."

The reply was short, but it had been honest. 

Light shot through his father's body, his posture righting itself slightly. 

"But." Kageyama started, threat lacing his voice.

"If anything I don't like happens, I'm leaving."

Kageyama's father only nodded, agreeing with the statement. 

The two stayed quiet for a moment. They haven't seen eachother in a year and the first meet they finally have was more hostile than both probably intended. 

He began to walk past his father, tense as he passed where he stood, and froze a few feet away, waiting, his back to him. He could hear footsteps walk away quickly, could hear the rustling of the flowers being lowered onto the grave, and then he felt a presence behind him.

"Let's go then."

 

 

The four boy's sat around Oikawa and Kageyama's kitchen island, shoveling noodles in their mouths and joking about eachother's lives. Oikawa was the first to finish, he was starving from the day's take on him but he was also finished quickly due to the other boys stealing bits of pork and whatever else out of his bowl.

Now, he simply watched his friends. He was really happy they were here, he hadn't gotten a visit from them at all since graduation. Sure, they skyped and they snapchatted each other and they kept in touch, but they hadn't actually visited, they hadn't actually come into contact.

"So." Makki said, wiping his mouth.

"This is your new place huh?" 

The four boys all took the chance to wander their eyes around the apartment. Luckily, he and Kageyama cleaned up before his departure. There was only an empty mug on the coffee table from this morning and their breakfast plates in the sink. Oikawa saw Iwaizumi's eyes trace over the ceiling's metal frame before dropping down to the canvas near the window, the first layer of Kageyama's latest project dried.

"It's nice." Iwaizumi said. 

Oh. He and Iwa-Chan hadn't exactly hung out since his move, this was actually the first time he had even come into the new place.

"Yeah, I really like it. Tobio-Chan and I try to keep it pretty tidy, and it's a nice location. Good for studying, good for relaxing."

"What?" the other three boys responded in unison. 

"Tobio?" Iwaizumi said

"You live with Kageyama?" Mattsun asked, curiosity peaking through his voice.

Oikawa froze. 

"Ha, I guess I do." 

The response was more to himself than anyone else. He really was living with Tobio. To his friend's eyes, he could see how strange that seemed. He's disliked Tobio for a long time, it wasn't like Oikawa to suddenly put down resentment so easily. 

Things were different now though, especially since he knew the truth now, the truth behind Nine.

"That's fucking weird." Makki said, slurping noodles casually. 

"Last thing I remembered, you hated Kageyama's guts, and then a few days later I saw you guys getting breakfast together." Iwaizumi said, his forehead creased in confusion.

"I mean, it's just... It's a long story." 

"I bet." Mattsun replies

"But, we have the time." He continues, giving Oikawa a soft smile.

Oikawa feels himself relax, he stares into the eyes of all his friends and then his lips start moving.

He starts his tale at the surprise double date, causing a dark blush against Iwaizumi's cheeks. He follows that with how he had drank too much and crashed at this exact location. Ironically, Makki pulls out the beers and cracks four open, handing one to each young man. 

Oikawa continues his explanation about how he had gotten Tobio's turned down scholarship, how he was pissed that he didn't earn it on his own, then he goes into the fight he witnessed between Kageyama and two other men, how his tensions for the raven haired boy lightened, how he helped him set a ball again, how Kageyama asked him to move in.

"He's a funny guy, ya know? Sometimes he comes off as really quiet and reserved, but then blam, there he is making fun of you. He's told me off a couple of times for falling asleep while studying or if I have my contacts in.  
Oikawa takes a swing from his drink, the liquor warming his cheeks with a soft flush.

"I try and repay him back. He's heavy, but he's also a heavy sleeper, so I can carry him to bed if he ends up with a textbook on his chest on the living room floor. I make us breakfast a lot too, we both try to make the most out of the free time we have. We'll order take out every now and then, but usually we'll end the evening off with a movie or something."

Oikawa feels warm inside. He swirls the liquid inside the bottle and stares at it longingly. Tobio was supposed to be home by now, but he hadn't even called. Maybe he should call him, make sure everything is okay.

As if reading his mind, Iwaizumi asks, "Where is he anyway? Kageyama?"

"Oh, he's visiting family. He was supposed to be back by now, but I guess he got held up." Oikawa responds, taking another drink.

"Seems like you two are pretty close." Makki says, draining his own bottle.

Oikawa doesn't know why, but that phrase made him feel quite uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the teasing tone added within Makki's words, but it made Oikawa twitch a bit. Were they close? He's always considered him and Nine to be close, but now that he knew it was Kageyama, it was a little different. He couldn't deny that they have done slightly intimate stuff with one another, but that was just for comfort. That was just out of being kind. Right?

"Didn't you guys have, like, a thing in high school?" Makki continues.

Oikawa feels his cheeks heat up, more than from just his drink. 

"I- uh, not really?"

"Bullshit." Iwaizumi responds, quite casually too.

"You never stopped talking about him, there was always this glint in your eyes and you would not shut the hell up when you talked about how cute he looked when you took him out shopping." 

Oikawa pulled his hand up to his face and looked away, embarrassed. 

"I-" Oikawa was cut off immediately, a ring slicing through the air. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, on screen was Kageyama's name.

"Ooo, speak of the devil!" Mattsun says, earning a grin out of everyone around the table.

Oikawa quickly stands and walks to the hall, escaping the teasing of his friends.

"Hello?"

"Oikawa." Kageyama's voice is monotone.

"Hey, are you okay? You were supposed to come home a while ago. I have some friends-"

"I'm staying in Miyagi for a while longer." Kageyama says, cutting him off.

"What?"

"I ran into some difficulties. I'll try and keep in touch, but I have to deal with some issues here. I'll be back in a week, I'm sorry if my absence causes any stress. I really wanted to relax with you tonight, but sadly I'm far from relaxing right now. Listen, I have to go, but I'll see you soon okay?"

Oikawa hears a voice in the background, a "hello, sir." and a quick response from Kageyama before the beep of the ending of the call sounds.

Oikawa walks back into the kitchen and sits down slowly, a worried expression marking his face.

"What's wrong, Oiks?" Mattsun asks.

"Um, Tobio called. He was acting really strange, said he wouldn't be back till a week from now."

"Hm, that is pretty strange, especially without warning, but I think it should be okay, he's a grown man you know." Makki says.

Oikawa only nods.

The other boys try and boost his mood, talking about their universities and jobs. It turns out that Makki works at a cafe too, but it definitely does not reach the exquisiteness of  Edens. Mattsun has a job as well, as an intern at a computer engineering and software company, trying to get experience for a cyber security job.

"I have to say, Oikawa's job at pretty boy cafe seems quite hectic at times, all of the coffee princes seem a hassle." Iwaizumi says, his second beer making him more comfortable to speak jokingly. 

"Pretty boy cafe?" Mattsun laughs.

"Let me tell you, Iwa-Chan, that I am no prince of the cafe, If anything, I am the king." Oikawa smirks.

"And there it is." Mattsun says.

"Yeah, I was wondering when the 'great king' would make his appearance." Makki teases.

"What?" Oikawa laughs.

"You know, your narcissism. It's been missing. I was wondering if we had the real Oikawa in our grasp or if the aliens he's been hunting after finally found him." Makki continues.

Oikawa giggled at that, but his mind questioned himself. Had he actually changed that much? He didn't necessarily feel that toning down the narcissism was a bad thing, but he definitely didn't find it good that his friends were questioning his personality.

"You have been different, Tooru." Iwaizumi says, scratching the back of his neck.

"I know we haven't exactly had time to hang out, but you've been oddly quiet, especially socially."

This struck a chord with Oikawa. Even Iwa-Chan noticed a change within him.

"I mean, I guess that when you go through a phase of self doubt, when you think you've reached the maximum of all you can ever be, you find a bit of lack of confidence." Oikawa responds shyly, a bit nervous.

"Tooru-kun, don't doubt yourself." Makki's voice was stern, and the honorific attached to his first name caused Oikawa to feel a twinge in his chest.

"Yeah Oiks, you're a cool guy. All pretty and smart, I'm sure you're just not realizing the impact you have on the world around you." Mattsun follows.

Oikawa takes a minute to think about it. College was very different from high school. Back then, Aoba Joshai was his kingdom. 

"Don't pretend that you don't see all those girls still going to your matches, Shitty-Kawa." Iwaizumi adds.

Oikawa hadn't actually noticed that. In a way, he was simply going through the motions. Life wasn't bad, but he wasn't exactly enjoying it either. Had there actually been fans of his at matches? Were there slipped numbers in his textbooks he never bothered to notice? Did people smile at him in the hall? Oikawa couldn't even imagine his campus. 

"I think. I think I've let life pass me by." Oikawa finally says. 

A few seconds after his statement, all of his friends suddenly slap their hands onto their back. 

"Well, now that you know. Just start living my bro." Makki states, a wide grin held on his face. 

"Yeah... I'll start." Oikawa confirms. He smiles too, it's small, but it's honest. He's grateful his friends are here, he's glad that they care, that they've noticed how he's been. 

Oikawa opens another bottle for himself and the four boys continue to talk about life. 

Though, in the back of his mind, he still thinks to Kageyama. He wonders if he's okay. Had someone called him 'sir?'

Oikawa rests his elbow on the table and places the side of his face in his hand. All he knows now is that his friends are here with him. He might as well enjoy that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and thank you for joining me on another chapter!  
> So... I've kind of decided to actually put work into this fic. I've kind of been just going along with it, but I don't want to waste this story. I'm going to plan out a better plot and have more interesting entries. I'm sorry if the story has been slow or anything like that, but I really want to make an effort.  
> Also, I know that there's been a lot of angst and drama. There will be some fluff soon though, we just need to get through a few other chapters, haha. Also, I'm thinking of adding some heated stuff? *Wiggles eyebrows* Not anything hardcore, but I think it could add an intersting taste. This is a college au is it not?  
> Anyways, thank you for your continued effort and support, I really appreciate you all.


	13. Home

* * *

"Hello, Sir"

The phrase is repeated once Kageyama reaches the car door all the way to inside the manor. He's forgotten how often those words are used, how they used to echo throughout his day. 

As himself and his father enter the household, their doorman opens it wide, allowing Kageyama to see the rest of the staff, lined up, greeting the two men that walk inside.

"Hello, sir." "Hello, sir." "Hello, sir."

Kageyama's eyes wander the location. His father barely notices the bows of the workers but Kageyama nods at them, allowing them to lift their heads. All of the faculty have somber eyes, all of them sympathetic, as if they understand his pain in returning here.

He scans through them, trying to place names to faces. He can remember these people, but just hardly, for he never actually made the effort to try and grow an attachment to any of them. His eyes stop though, on a young woman with dark black hair and thin glasses frames. 

"Greetings, Sir." The young woman says, bowing her head and meeting him in the eyes.

Kageyama swallows hard, his nerves suddenly on edge. 

"Hello, Kiyoko." he responds, glad that his voice is even and deep.

A voice is cleared and all attention is focused on Kageyamas father.

"Stuart, if you could ready dinner for my son and I." the man states.

"Sir." Is all the butler responds with before he heads towards the kitchen, followed by a maid he did not remember the name of.

 

All the sudden humanity Kageyama's father had shown at the cemetery somehow vanished during the car ride. Right after they entered the house, Kageyama's father excused himself into his study for 'business matters' and left Kageyama to his own. 

Kageyama didn't mind though. He was glad to get away from his father. He needed time to breathe, to process the situation unraveling in front of him. He spent a while wandering the property, waltzing through his mothers gardens and entering halls he used to play hide and seek in. His mother was no where to be found, though, this was nothing unusual. He suspected that she was out again on a 'business trip', trying to get away from her husband and dreary home.

The house seemed so much darker compared to the past. His old grand piano was no where to be seen and the portraits of past family on the walls all held much more melancholic expressions then he remembered them to be. 

When he passed by his father's study, there was nothing but the quiet scratching of a pen on paper and the occasional typing on a keyboard. He walked away bored and finally made his way to his old bedroom. 

It was quite bare, but he'd always kept it as such. When he left home, he had only left with a duffel containing a few clothing items, money, and small valuables. Kageyama was not a very materialistic person, hence the minimalism, but yet, the room did spark a familiarity to him. 

The walls were a soft grey, matching his bed sheets which were perfectly made. There were no posters, no pictures, no items that would usually resemble a teenager's bedroom. Though it would be expected for this room to be depressing, it really wasn't. If felt more mundane, more normal compared to the rest of the house. It wasn't a massive room and there was plenty of light being let in through a large window in front of an empty desk. 

Kageyama pulled out his phone and opened his contacts. He was scrolling out of pure boredom but stopped when he spotted Suga's name. Kageyama  _really_ wanted to call him. He knew that they hadn't talked in a few days, he knew that he had probably made Suga feel really awkward after the incident in the club, but he needed to call him, he needed to hear his voice and have his best friend to talk to. 

Kageyama bit his lip and then pressed the name. There was three rings before the other line picked up, a soft hello questioned. 

"Suga."

"Kageyama?" there was worry hinted in the name.

"I'm sorry I haven't called you earlier, I've been busy." 

It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the exact truth either.

"It's okay Tobio, I know that life can get in the way." 

Kageyama sighed at Suga's reply. Suga was such a sweet guy, it simply wasn't fair. 

"I'm sorry." he repeated, not knowing how to explain his situation.

"Are you okay?"

Suga obviously noticed the strain in his words, the tense atmosphere. 

"I'm home." Kageyama stated. 

"Okay? Are you and Oikawa-Kun okay? Or-"

"No. Suga, I'm home." 

"Oh." 

There was a pause and then Suga responded again, understanding what he meant. 

"Oh! Why? Is everything okay?"

Kageyama sighed heavily and sat on his bed, the mattress leaning down from his weight.

"Yes, I just accidentally ran into my father while visiting my grandpa at the cemetery." Kageyama said chuckling, though, he wasn't really amused by this.

"Are you okay? Did he force you to go? Do you need me to come to Miyagi?" 

"No, no. It's fine Suga, it was my choice. I'm just waiting for the damn man to get out of his study so we can talk about why the hell he asked me to come back here... He looked so frightened Suga, he looked so human."

Suga responded with a hum, and then said, "Just be careful, Kags. Stay safe and don't do anything you're uncomfortable with. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, family is family, but I don't want you to get hurt again."

_Family is Family, huh?_

"Thank you, Suga. I, I think I'm going to go now, I just wanted to talk to someone. I needed to make sure that this was real life, haha." 

"Okay. Come home safe. When you get back, we'll actually catch up." 

"Right. I'll talk to you soon."

Kageyama ends the call and pinches the bridge of his nose. 

He's about to turn off the screen but suddenly his attention is grabbed by a name in his recents, right under Suga. Without hesitation Kageyama clicks on it.

"Oikawa." 

 

By the time Kageyama finishes the call, there's a knock on the door and Kiyoko walks into his room. 

"Hello sir. Dinner should be ready soon." She says. 

"Thank you, I'll be down shortly." 

Instead of leaving, the young maid takes a step towards Kageyama.

"I'm glad to see you're well, Kageyama." 

He looks up from his phone, low key shocked by the sudden drop of formalities. 

"Thank you. It's been well." 

"I was really worried about you." She says, sitting next to him on the bed. 

Kageyama can feel his heart race. He's never been one to have regrets, to take back his actions, but now as the maid sat next to him, her eyes dark and searching, he felt uncomfortable.

He'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't use her. She was a beautiful girl, hardworking, delicate. The day she was hired, Kageyama had noticed her presence. 

During his dark phase, he didn't care for anything though. She was his; she worked for him, therefore he could have her, and have her he did. She never complained, in fact, it would be accurate to say that she enjoyed it. Who wouldn't enjoy being the toy of a handsome and wealthy young man?

"I appreciate the concern, Kiyoko." 

"You know, I haven't stopped thinking about you, how you've been, where you've been."

She lifts her hand to his the side of his face and it trails down his neck, to his chest. Kageyama shivers a bit in reaction and she takes this as a good sign, leaning in. 

"It's been so lonely without you here."

She whispers this close his his ear. Her breath warming his cheek. Her hand runs down his chest and slides to the flat of his stomach. Kageyama lets out a soft gasp. He should stop, he really should. 

With a strong will, he begins to gently push her away.

"Kiyoko, I-"

"Sir."

A knock and sudden arrival of his butler Stuart shocks the two on the bed, both quickly moving away from the other.

"Dinner is ready and your father awaits in the dining area." the butler says promptly before backing out. 

"I'll be down in just a minute!" Kageyama calls after him.

Kageyama sighs and runs a ran through his hair.

"I think it'd be best if you found your way in life without me, Kiyoko."

Kageyama says the sentence quickly before dashing out of his room. It may have been harsh, but it was definitely necessary. 

As he makes his way inside the dining hall, he sees that his father sits alone at the end of the table. Kageyama places himself next to him, on the side. 

"Hello." His father says. 

"Father."

The man takes a sip from his drink and slips a folder over the table towards Kageyama's direction.

Kageyama make sure no effort to open the folder. He only watches his father begin to eat, pulling up classically trained arms to delicately feed himself.

"As you should expect, work without you here has been rather difficult."

Kageyama only nodded. He had expected that, but it wasn't  _his_ work that was growing difficult. 

"I expect you to come with me to meetings the next few days. It'll be extensive, but you need to catch up on all the companies that have made themselves known, all the new owners, all the new families." 

Kageyama stared at his father wide eyed. Had he not heard him? He wasn't coming back into this life, into this constant push and pull of fake smiles and stressful meetings. This life was not cut out for him, because of it, he wasn't even able to do what he truly loved, volleyball.

"I thought we agreed on a single week of my visit."

"I asked for a week. You must have mistaken my request, but I meant a week to catch up on work, a week to figure out what to do with your life." 

Kageyama knew this was false. What his father stated now was nothing he had meant at the cemetery. Per usual, his father twisted his words, trying to get what he wants.

"No."

Kageyama's father stopped his movements. 

"Excuse me?" his voice was soft, but it was also deadly. This was the voice Kageyama used to run away from, the voice he would hear before he got punished, waking up the next day having to cover bruises with certain items of clothing and makeup. Though... Kageyama was no young boy anymore.

"You perfectly understood what I said, father." 

His fathers eye's grew hard and a sneer crossed his face.

"You are wasting your life." 

Kageyama felt waves of anger pounding against his insides. Wasting life? The past year and a half he'd left, he had managed to make new friends, become an artist, find a true home, and thanks to Oikawa, begin to take steps towards his passion for his sport again.

" _Waste my life?"_ Kageyama replied, chuckling. 

"Let me tell you, _sir_ , that if you truly knew me, knew the life I was living now, a waste is a very inaccurate word to describe it." 

Kageyama slowly stood from the table, the heavy chair under him screeching deeply from it's friction against the floor. 

"Tobio, look at where you are! You stand in a home that can offer you the world, exactly what I am trying to do, and you ran away from it, because you are a  _coward._ "

His father banged a fist on the table, sending them both into quiet. 

Kageyama looked down, his fringe coverings his eyes. But... He was so done. He was so finished with this, finished with this life.

Breaking the silence, Kageyama took a step back and breathed in deeply.

"I see where I am, father. I am standing in a home that is not a home. I stand in a home where no happiness lies. I stand in a home that only reminds me of arguments, of dark nights spent alone, of beatings and of silent cries. You say you can offer me the world, that this life can offer me the world, but it cannot. My life isn't to be treated as a puppet to the corrupted wealth, my life isn't to use those below me. I have found happiness in a life that involves true hard work and true care, care for not only myself, but others. Thanks to everyone but _you_ , I have learned how to love and I have learned how to love myself. While I lived in this world here, in this life here, I wanted to _die._ " 

Kageyama's chest rose and fell heavily, the sudden rant sending adrenaline through him. He never talked to his father this way, never had the courage to explain himself.

"If I may quote. _If you want to die, go ahead, leave. No son is better than one that is an embarrassment._ " Kageyama continues. 

"You're just like your mother." His father hisses. 

Kageyama scoffs. 

"And what is that supposed to mean? Are you mad because mom is sticking up too? Mad because she probably hates it here too? Mad because she probably hates you!"

"Shut the hell up you little shit!" His father violently yells. 

Kageyama falters a bit at the sudden rage, but doesn't let his anger, his resentment drop. 

"You're weak just like her! You're pathetic and scared and enough of a coward to go and kill yourself!" his father continues.

"Kill?-"

"It's your fault you stupid boy! It's your fault she's dead! She probably got the idea from your pathetic attempt! You had to go crazy and try to die, you had to leave home!  _You killed her, you killed your mother!_ " 

"I..." 

Both Kageyama and his father were standing now, both of them breathing hard, both of them staring into one another's dark blue eyes, both of them wanting to release the pain they felt. 

"Are you really that selfish? That while visiting your pathetic grandfather, you hadn't even offered to take notice to the grave next to it? You hadn't bothered to take notice to your mother?" 

Each word his father spoke was violent. Each word sent shivers up Kageyama's spine. In panic he thought back to the cemetery.

_His mother. His mother was dead and it was his fault. She was dead and it was his fault._

He remembered the lilies. Remembered how distraught his father had looked when he arrived. Kageyama now knew who those flowers were for. Those lilies weren't for his grandfather, those lilies were for his mom. Kageyama can envision the flowers, probably welted now, sitting upon a cold stone, his mother's name written underneath. 

Kageyama couldn't breathe. He felt like he had a weight in his chest pushing down on his lungs. Without realizing, tears had begun rising into his eyes. He took a step back, then two, then all of a sudden he was making his way to the door.

_I have to get out, I have to leave, I have to get out._

A firm grasp appeared onto Kageyama's arm and he saw the eyes of his father boring into his.

"Tobi-"

"Get away from me!" Kageyama screeched. 

He could feel the beginnings of a panic attack rise. He had to leave and he had to leave now. He wrenched himself out of his father's grasp and dashed into the main living area. He felt the eyes of the staff on him, he was sure they heard the arguing.

He understood now. He understood the sympathetic glances when he arrived, he understood why Kiyoko thought she could manipulate him, why she wanted to pretend it was her that was being manipulated. They all thought he was weak, they all thought he knew, they all thought that he hadn't found himself, hadn't found happiness. 

_Well they were wrong._

Happiness was his apartment, was his classes on his campus, was his brand new piano, was his paintings, was Eden. Happiness was falling asleep while studying and waking up in your bed lastly remembering the feel of strong arms. Happiness was at that home, and Kageyama wanted to be there so bad.

Quickly grabbing his pack and swinging on his coat, he busted out into the middle of the night. 

Finally, he was doing what he wanted to do once he laid eyes on his father; he ran. 

But this running away wasn't cowardly and he knew it. Kageyama knew where his being belonged. Kageyama ran towards freedom, ran to home. The more he thought about his home, the more he thought about Akaashi, Bokuto and Kuroo laughing downstairs, the more he thought about Suga's laugh, his hand guiding his as he painted, the more he thought about Oikawa, his smile, his cooking, his kindness, the harder he ran. 

Eventually he had managed to find himself at the train station. He threw himself onto the last ride of the night, leading him away from his born 'destiny', this sickening lifestyle.

He was going home. 

 

 

Oikawa laid on the living room floor, his guitar on his chest. 

His eyes were hooded, half closed due to the long day, but he couldn't relax. Nerves tingled at him, his anxiety eating away his need to sleep. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so nervous, it wasn't like he hadn't ever spent a night alone, yet... This new feeling disrupted his vibes. It felt so empty without another presence in the apartment. The air felt colder, the rooms looked darker. Oikawa couldn't explain it exactly, but it felt like he was wandering a black hole.

A whole week. What was he supposed to a whole week? 

His friends had already left for the night, all saying goodbyes and giving hugs. During that time, even though he was glad his friends had visited, he was glad to be alone, glad to relax.

Maybe the problem laid there. His relaxation didn't just involve himself anymore, but Tobio. 

Oikawa continued plucking the strings of the guitar, trying to play melodies he learned while he was a child, trying to find a tune that would soothe him. In the end, he placed the guitar to his side. What he wanted to hear now wasn't his beloved guitar. What he wanted to hear were the delicate notes of a piano. 

The night only kept falling, and with each minute Oikawa's eyes grew heavier. A frown marked his face as he slowly started to drift off on the hard floor, but this was better than no sleep at all. 

Right as he finally fell away from the world, when he finally managed to fall into the grasp of sleep, the sound of keys from the front door pulled him wide awake. 

Oikawa stood up quickly and watched the door in anticipation.

A black head of hair emerged within the room, soon followed by a whole body.

"Oikawa." 

Oikawa ran to the boy and pulled him tight against his body. 

God. He didn't know why was so worked up, he didn't know why he had been so anxious, but Tobio being home felt so much better. 

"I know I said a week, but I decided I couldn't last that long." Kageyama said, voice tickling the side of Oikawa's neck. 

"Tobio, you are going to make me take extra hours for my shifts, aren't you?"

Kageyama shifted in confusion. 

"You take a trip to Miyagi and back in one day... You rent out a planetarium just to tell me your video game character's name." 

Oikawa could feel Kageyama's blush against him. 

"That could've been for our apartment rent you know." the brunette continues teasing, words losing themselves into dark hair. 

Kageyama giggled and Oikawa smiled wide. He's always wanted to hear Nine's laugh in person, and now he knew he has. Both of them continued laughing softly together and eventually they pulled away. 

He noticed the red that edged around Tobio's eyes as if he's been crying.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Was all the brunette asked.

Kageyama nodded no, and in response he took him by the hand softly and led him to the younger boy's room. 

He knows that they don't do this often, that in other's homes this may seem odd... But in their home, this was fine, this was important. He could tell that Kageyama had a rough day, a long one just as he has and that they both needed the comfort. 

Receiving the hint , Kageyama went into the closet to change. By the time he's out, the older male was already in bed and had placed his glasses on the night stand next to it. When Oikawa saw Kageyama in a pair of sleep shorts and an old Karasuno sweater he smiled  and pulled up the blanket as an invitation to lay down. 

Kageyama wiggles underneath the covers and turned off the lamp. There's no words exchanged between the two, but it was comfortable.

He slid farther into the covers, enough for Oikawa to feel his body heat. Impulsively he reached forwards to tug slightly on the younger male, pulling him close. 

He can feel his eyes drooping now, sleep gnawing at him, but there was a shift and he tensed, afraid that perhaps hugging isn't exactly what he wanted, but the boy simply turns around so that he faces Oikawa, his head tucked underneath his chin. 

Kageyama reaches up and runs his fingers through Oikawa's hair. In return he runs his own fingers across the side of the other's face, placing a thumb on a cheekbone and stroking it. He then brought his hand down to caress his back, rubbing circles there he can feel Kageyama breathe out, satisfied and comfortable. Eventually their legs tangle and in the crook of Oikawa's neck he hears a thank you.

Kageyama's voice sends a shiver through Oikawa, but he only pulled him closer in response. Oikawa pushed dark hair off of the boy's forehead in affection and leans down, lips brushing against the other's ear.

"I'm just glad you're home."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ANGST. Lol, I'm sorry.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I should've waited to post it, but I'm impulsive (◕‿◕✿)  
> Honestly, I'm thinking about ending this fic soon. I sort of feel bad because I feel like that'll be cutting it short. These characters and this story has a lot of potential, but again... This is also my first fic, and I really want to try out some other stuff too.  
> Anyways, thank you again for reading, and hopefully I'll see you in the next one.


	14. Peony Pink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've always had problems with my tenses.... but this is ridiculous and I want to apologise

_Tender.   He can feel it._

_Saccharine.   He can taste it._

_Husky.   He can hear it._

_Musk.   He can breathe it._

_Him.   He sees him._

 

_Gentle._

_Different than what he's used to._

_Oikawa has had his share of dark nights with strangers, simple hook ups and accidents due to too many drinks. But this. This is elegant._

_Quiet cries and loud heartbeats. Oikawa wants all of him. Not to devour, but to savor._

_Fingers trail up soft limbs, open mouthed kisses are placed on top of those scorching carved paths._

_There's a keening moan, a slight tremble. Oikawa kisses it away._

_He laughs into jet black hair, makes his way down to a neck and presses smoldering lips down onto a muscular chest, a quivering stomach, sharp hipbones._

_He hears his name when he tugs at a waistband._

_There's giggling and this is pure music to Oikawa's ears._

_"Oikawa."  
_

_A voice so sweet, too real._

_Too... Real..._

 

"Oikawa."

The name causes his eyes to widen. There's a blinding burst of light, and it takes a while for his eyes to adjust before he sees a sleepy smile.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"I-What?"

Kageyama frowns. 

"Are you okay? You were shifting around a lot and saying stuff. Were you having a nightmare?"

Heat creeps into Oikawa's ears and cheeks instantly, remembering what he just dreamt. Face red, he turns onto his back, hoping the other boy doesn't notice the deep flush. 

"I can't remember, sorry if I bothered you... Was I saying anything weird?"

If Kageyama notices the embarrassment, he doesn't show it.

"No. Everything you were saying was pretty inaudible. I woke up only a few seconds before you. I was just worried."

_Thank God_

He looks over at Tobio. His hair was ruffled from sleep, but his eyes were more alert now, the deep blue looking like a hidden part of an ocean, or the sky right before the sun rises. Tobio was beautiful, and Oikawa wanted to keep gazing, to scribe in his mind every detail of the boy's face, but his dream was vividly replaying in his mind.

He tries to keep his eyes away from pink cheeks, lips that could turn the same colour if he kissed them long enough.

He tries not to think of  _that,_ of  _them._

Luckily his mind gets distracted quickly, trying to put together what caused them to wake up next to each other.

He was in Tobio's bed. Tobio had come home late and... Was upset about something?

"How are you Tobio-Chan?" Oikawa asked, suddenly worried.

The other boy poked his head up from under the covers he somehow rolled himself up in. 

"I'm...."

There's a very slight strain to his words, a pain creeping through so softly is almost unnoticeable, but Oikawa can feel it.

"l don't know." 

Kageyama flinches at his own words.

Oikawa concludes that whatever happened yesterday was terrible, simply from that statement.

Oikawa worried, he really is. But yet, he doesn't know how to handle this, doesn't know the context of Tobio's upsetting. 

Instead of further questioning, Oikawa dexudes to take the other in his arms. 

It's cliche, it's random, but Oikawa woke up next to this boy, he has the chance to care for him, and he's grateful for this.

Well, he's upset that Tobio's upset, but he's glad that they've come to this bond. He's grateful that he can finally hold his friend Tobio aka, 909, in his arms.

Finally.

There's a warmth that builds between the two. It's nice, but Oikawa still can't but feel a little flustered at the contact.

It's odd.

It's not like Oikawa hasn't had any needs, he's a human being and has gone through a want like anybody else. But yet... Never with Tobio has he had that kind of feeling.

Granted, there was no denying that he thought Tobio was attractive. There was no denying that they had been into each other back in high school. 

But yet...

He wasn't one to  _want_ so easily, and even more, wasn't ready to consider the fact that he'd _want Tobio_. 

There was a shift, and Kageyama let out a sigh into Oikawa's chest. 

This snapped Oikawa away from his 'sinful' thoughts.

He needed to take care of Tobio today, he needed to help Tobio through whatever he was so upset about, whatever had him calling Oikawa yesterday evening, whatever had him back home quickly with tears pooling up in his eyes.

Oikawa softly places his lips on top of the other's head. It wasn't a kiss, but an act for comfort.

They'd make it through today. 

 

 

 

"I'd love to."

"Really?"

"Yes really, you nut. I miss you and I want to see you." 

Kageyama paced his living room. He definitely felt alright, more alright than he thought he'd be after the hectic encounter with his father two days ago.

Yesterday had gone by uneventfully. Oikawa didn't have work, so the two ended up staying home all day.

It snowed a bit, and Kageyama had made coffee for the two after a few more hours of laying around together.

Kageyama appreciated Oikawa's kindness, the patience. He was sure that the brunette was curious about many things, especially after the "big reveal."

Though, he had waited patiently. He asked if Kageyama wanted to talk about what happened during his trip, and when Kageyama said he wasn't ready, Oikawa didn't push. 

It was a quiet day.

After relishing the morning hugs, Kageyama decided he'd do stuff around the apartment to distract himself.

He cleaned the kitchen, organized the bathroom, swept and mopped and vacuumed.

Eventually, he ended up playing the piano in the evening, and Oikawa moved from studying in his room to on the couch to listen to the melodies. 

They didn't speak much, no real conversation was held. 

Kageyama really didn't want to talk.

He didn't want to think about his asshole father and the fact that his mother, the only other person other than his grandfather that somewhat cared, killed herself because of him.

He didn't want to think about his confession to Oikawa either, he didn't know what to expect from the brunette and he didn't want to over complicate their relationship.

He didn't want to think about anything.

He was really scared that he would break down again. He didn't want another panic attack, didn't want to fall down into the dark,  didn't want  _this life_ to end.

 Kageyama wanted to keep playing piano, wanted to still game, wanted to relax in Oikawa's arms without questioning _why_.

Yet... Everything was getting difficult. 

Kageyama's mind felt muggy, felt claustrophobic; so when Suga asked him out for dinner, hinting that perhaps it was more than to just to "catch up", Kageyama didn't mind. 

He actually wanted to see Suga. He  _really_ missed him. 

He would be lying if he said he didn't think about what Suga had said at the club the other night.

It had to be a confession, right?

Suga was a person to give, to give himself to anyone if they needed.

But, " _I'm yours."_  

That was just something else.

It was a bit overbearing if he was to be honest. But... it was a beautiful way to put it. 

"I'll see you there," was the last thing he had said before he hung up the call. 

"See you soon Suga," Kageyama whispered to himself. 

 

The walk had been brisk. 

When Kageyama walked inside of Eden, his nose started to regain feeling from the warmth. 

"Kageyama!" 

Suga sat near the back, at a table where the painting Kageyama had made hung above it.

The raven haired boy made his way over and sat down, giving Suga a look over.

His hair had grown.

Perhaps it was already long the last time they had hung out, but it was at a point were it was noticeable now.

The locks were curling at the back of his neck, a bit of a tail flipping out at the back. The tips of his bangs neared his chin, strands of it tucked behind his ears.

It wasn't a bad look, quite attractive to be honest. 

Kageyama giggled softly to himself though, it was a bit too 'starving artist' for his taste.

 

 

 

That... Was a bit too painful to see.

Suga had the day off, why did he have to come here today and bring Kageyama with him? 

Oikawa huffed out a sigh as he wiped glasses from behind the bar. 

He was slightly annoyed at the two boys who laughed and conversed.

Oikawa had waited patiently the whole day yesterday,  _the whole day,_  yet Kageyama hadn't spoke to him about anything once. 

They didn't talk about how they've known each other through a video game for months, they didn't talk about the visit to Miyagi, they didn't even talk about the god damn cuddles they had shared in the morning. 

Oikawa felt so conflicted inside.

Maybe they were both being ignorant to all the events that have been happening to them, sure, but majority of the reason why, was because Oikawa didn't know what the hell was happening anymore.

Everything felt too fast, like too many things were happening, but in the moment, in the current moment, everything felt so  _slow._ Painfully slow. 

There was laughter from the table, and he could see that there was a joke placed between the two. 

Luckily, he wasn't their waiter for tonight. Oikawa didn't know if he could have handled that. 

The sudden feeling of a jaw clenched occurred when Kageyama reached over to push back some of Suga's argent hair. 

Why was he getting so bent out of shape? Maybe it was his instincts? During a game he sometimes got this gut feeling that something was off. Maybe Suga wasn't actually helping Kageyama...

Eh, it was a far leap, especially since it was painfully obvious to see the chemistry between the two. 

Oikawa just wanted a reason, an understanding for why he felt so uncomfortable. 

 

 

 

Suga's apartment was warm. 

After a meal and a few coffees at the cafe, the copper eyed boy had offered to head back to his place.

Kageyama didn't mind, he felt the need for privacy now, he wanted to talk, he wanted to talk to his best friend. 

"How about opening a bottle?" Kageyama asked.

The question startled him himself.

He didn't really expect to be drinking tonight, but it felt like a proper time.

He was comfortable on Suga's couch, comfortable with his knees tucked up under his chin, his favourite 'starry night' socks warming his toes. 

Suga only nodded and pulled a bottle of wine out of his fridge.

It was tinted a slight pink, the colour of fresh peony flowers, very pretty. 

"This is fine to drink alone. I usually only have reds, but this was a gift." Suga explained while grabbing two glasses. 

The two sipped quietly for a bit, soft music Suga had turned on earlier filling the empty space. 

Suga was nice and patient when it came to this stuff too, another item added to the list of reasons why Kageyama adored his friend. 

They continued to sip from their glasses for a while, simply enjoying the tunes and each other's comfort, but Kageyama couldn't concentrate very well.

His mind raced as fast as it had been the day he visited their home town, he didn't even realize that they had opened another bottle until he poured himself another of many glasses.

Suga had always told Kageyama that he had to let these thoughts out, that if he pent up too much, he'd only burst from it.

_"Tobio, you can talk to me. We can make it through this. It's not your fault."_

God.

Suga was so  _kind,_ so  _caring._

He could feel the alcohol in his system, the warmth spreading to his neck and tinging his throat.

It helped him loosen up, relax.

"Are you okay, Tobio?"

He looked over at Suga.

The other male was curled up on the couch next to him.

His white shirt was unbuttoned at the top now.  

Pale neck, copper eyes, flushed cheeks from the wine; he was extremely pleasing to look at.

"Tobio?" Suga continued, worry flashing through his eyes. 

"I'm... I'm fine, Sug." 

His words came out slow, a bit drawled, and Suga only frowned more at the response. 

"Seriously, I'm good. Just relaxing now." Kageyama pushed. 

"Maybe you should stop with the drinks for now, Kags." Suga said, reaching forwards to pluck the glass out of his hand. 

Kageyama only giggled, and ran his fingers up Suga's outstretched arm, sliding his hand along the length of his neck, then to cup the side of his face.

Suga's breath hitched at that, his body suddenly tense. 

"You're so cute, Suga." 

The boy's cheeks instantly grew red at the comment.

Kageyama didn't even care about filters anymore, didn't care if he had his feelings for his friend sorted or not. He was only stating the truth, Suga was stunning.

"Kageyama..." Suga trailed, a loss of words. 

In a swift motion he placed his glass down on the coffee table and then pulled himself close to the silver haired boy, almost on top of him.

"So cute." he repeated, his thumb now stroking the side of his cheek.

Suga's eyes drooped, blush growing deeper. 

Kageyama's mouth twitched up in amusement.

 _Adorable._  

His eyes lingered down to the other boy's lips. They looked soft.

He's thought about kissing Suga plenty of times before; at parties when they've played spin the bottle, when they're raw from being bitten during intense study sessions...

Sugas breathing was ragged now, eyes flickering with sudden want.

The male seemed like he wanted to push Kageyama away, to save this for another time, but he stayed quiet.

He was waiting, letting Kageyama call the shots.

Kageyama leaned forward and nuzzled against the other's neck, argent hair tickling his face.

"Still so kind, Koushi, still so giving."

Suga shivered at the vibrations of Kageyma's voice, hands clenched when his given name was used.

Kageyama contemplated for a second, but then let his lips press there, let his lips trail down to press another kiss at the wing of a collar bone.

That earned a whimper.

Kageyama liked the sound of it.

Maybe he could get that to happen again?

He started sucking there, kept at it so that later a violet mark would be left there.

"Tobio." Suga whispered, a hand reaching up into his dark hair.

Kageyama pulled away to giggle softly.

How the tables have turned.

At the club, it was Suga that was making him feel flustered, but he wanted that to change tonight. He wanted to hear his name, he wanted to make someone feel good.

It was his fault everyone felt bad anyways... He was usually a burden... Might as well make good use of himself.

Plus... It wasn't like he wasn't enjoying this.

He grazed his teeth along the side of the Suga's neck.

Once he reached his jaw he placed a kiss there, then sent a kiss to a beauty mark, then to the side of two pink lips, open and wanting. 

He was basically straddling him now, their legs tangled together on the couch. 

"Are you mine, Suga-Senpai?" Kageyama whispered into Suga's ear, enjoying the irony of the situation.

It was savage, Kageyama  _knew._ But he couldn't help it.

He felt needy.

How long had it been since he'd gave into his wants? 

"Koushi?" 

"I-I."

"Hmm?" Kageyama hummed, placing another kiss onto his neck.

"I'm yours." Suga whimpered, gripping the front of Kageyama's shirt deathly tight.

Another giggle radiated out and he rolled his hips forwards, causing a sound from both of them.

"What was that Koushi?"

"I-I'm yours, Tobio." 

Kageyama rolled his hips once more and he could feel the press of blunt nails on his back.

"Good boy." He whispered.

It escalated quite quickly from there.

He unbuttoned Suga's white shirt painfully slow, letting a kiss drop where every button once was.

When he reached the last button right at the top of grey slacks, he let his kiss change to sucking. 

He could tell that Suga was resisting the urge to buck his hips forwards, to get rid of the slacks and have it then and there, but Kageyama was a tease, he wanted Suga to enjoy this.

Before he knew it they were both shirtless, Suga now allowed to place his own kisses onto Kageyama's body.

Kageyama fell backwards, his back molding into the couch.

Suga crawled on top of him, his dark brown eyes hungry- wait.

Suga had copper eyes, not dark brown.

Kageyama shook his head, and continued with the lustful act, trying to enjoy the feel of Suga's broad chest- Suga was smaller than Kageyama...

Why was he-

When the silver hair boy began grinding against him, Kageyama gasped, thoughts interrupted and hands gripping the side of the couch.

"Fuck," Kageyama moaned.

Suga bent down and ran his tongue over his bottom lip, seeking entrance.

"Oi..k.."

_fuck fuck fuck_

What was he saying?

Was Kageyama saying...

Oikawa's name?

Suga seemed to take no notice, only tilted Kageyama's head back to kiss him deeply.

He felt hands creep down his abdomen, fumbling with the button on his jeans. 

Kageyama pushed his hips up, causing Suga's fingers to slip from the button and a cry to come out of him at the friction. 

"Such a tease, how mean." Suga laughed softly.

Kageyama froze, his mind instantly flooding with panic, his worries hitting him like a truck full of bricks.

Mean. Was he being mean?

He didn't mean to be.

He didn't want to hurt anyone.

Was he being selfish again?

Had making Suga repeat his confession earlier hurt his feelings?

Was he being mean?

Noticing the tension, Suga pushed Kageyama's fringe out of his eyes, worry suddenly written all over his face.

He wanted to leave all of a sudden, he wanted to seek comfort, to be home.

"Tobio?"

Kageyama flinched.

He swore to god he heard Oikawa's voice behind the soft and lust laced voice of Suga's.

This... This wasn't happening, what was happening? 

Were they having sex? 

When did Suga lose his shirt?

How much did he drink?

Was he hurting Suga?

Was he hurting his friend?

"Tobio?" Suga repeated.

Kageyama started breathing fast. 

_I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry_

Kageyama wasn't speaking aloud, and he didn't know who he aimed the apologies at, but he was having a hard time breathing, having a hard time concentrating. 

His breathing quickened even more and he started to feel light headed.

"I- I." He started, but he couldn't get any words out, he couldn't talk to Suga.

"Tobio, calm down, you're okay, you're okay!"

Kageyama only shook his head no.

His head started spinning and he suddenly felt very crushed, very strained.

"I'm sorry." He finally croaked, his voice breaking.

Suga instantly hopped off of Kageyama and kneeled on the floor.

"Tobio, there is  _nothing_ to be sorry for."

Suga pulled the raven haired boy into his arms and Kageyama relaxed immediately, the scent of his best friend reassuring him. 

It was nice.

He breathed with Suga until he calmed, he felt warm against the male...

But it wasn't exactly what he wanted.

What he wanted was...

"I want to go home, Koushi." 

 

 

 

There was a light tap on the door after Oikawa finished typing the rough draft for his essay. 

It was a tiring day.

Work had been hectic and after watching his house mate and his co-worker flirt all night, he didn't want to come home to study and do homework.

Though, he had to.

He had to finish his stupid assignments and then put his clothes in the wash and then clean his room that happened to destroy itself after his cramming in information for last weeks tests.

So when the door received a more persistent knock, Oikawa wondered who in world would have the decency to bother him at midnight.

When the door swung open, Oikawa's mood changed from annoyed to concerned at once.

Mr. Refreshing was standing there, hair a mess, and shirt hardly buttoned up correctly. 

Oikawa's eyes barely scanned the streaks and dots of violet on his body before he noticed his house mate's slumped body leaning against the other.

"Oikawa-San, sorry to disturb you, but I couldn't find Kageyama's keys on him, I think he left them back at my place."

Suga blushed ever so slightly before continuing.

"We followed Akaashi-San in after running into him outside, but he doesn't have a key for this level, so again, sorry." 

Okay one.

Damn you Suga for being so polite and cute.

Two, What the fuck with the hickeys and bite marks.

Three, Tobio, oh my god Tobio-Chan.

"Is Tobio-Chan okay?" Oikawa asked immediately.

At the sound of Oikawa's voice, the slumped boy suddenly perked up, head lifted from the spot where it rested on Suga's shoulder.

"Oikawa-Senpai?"

Oikawa choked at the honorific. 

When was the last time he heard that?

"He uh... He wanted to come home." was all Suga said.

Oikawa bit his lip softly before stepping forwards.

"I'll take him."

With a nod Suga smiled gently and turned to head down the stairs, the unbuttoned bottom part of his shirt flowing behind him.

"Tobio?"

Kageyama pulled himself out of Oikawa's arms and stumbled a bit before the brunette pulled him back into his grasp again, making sure he didn't fall over.

"Oikawa-Senpai?" Kageyama asked, his voice soft.

There was a hard lump in Oikawa's throat, and he swallowed it down as his gaze trickled down the other boy's swollen lips and flushed cheeks, exactly how he'd dreamt them to be the other morning.

"Yes, Tobio-Chan?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

A pause.

"I'm... I'm sorry."

Oikawa frowned at this.

"Do _not_ be sorry, Tobio. What do you need?"

Kageyama's voice dropped so soft that Oikawa had to lean in to properly hear him.

"Could... Could we lay together again?"

It was Oikawa's turn to blush.

Tobio sounded so weak, so tiny, what had made this boy suddenly so distraught?

Oikawa was afraid of what else his house mate had gotten himself into, he was worried that Tobio would get depressed again. 

"Of course." 

The boy in his arms smiled so wide that Oikawa could feel a sudden pang shoot through his heart. 

"Thank you." Kageyama said, barely above a whisper.

With that, Oikawa swept Kageyama up in his arms, causing the younger setter to squeal and then let out an abundance of giggles as Oikawa led them to his room.

"Senpai!" Kageyama laughed.

Oikawa didn't know why, but that really got a kick out of him. 

"Off to bed we go, To-Chan!" he singsonged. 

When the boy in his arms nuzzled into his neck and let the softest touch of his lips press there and smile, well that, that was a bit too much for Oikawa to try and hide back a pleased grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohoho, a heated chapter???  
> Lol, so I have the rest of the fic laid out, and I think there's going to be about five chapters left before it ends. Don't worry, Oiks and Kags will have their own moment and Suga will end up happy... Just keep reading to find out how ;)  
> Also, I do have a [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkBYdumWYqp6uT-f3HbwWhg) . I haven't posted anything yet, but I'm thinking of making a "haikyuu inspired outfits / style steal" and maybe some other artsy videos inspired by the characters. As well as that, I'd love to vlog and show my art and all that good stuff.  
> If you guys want more of me, I post drawings and maybe I'll do writing requests now on my: [Blog](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rykrae)  
> Thank you guys so much for reading, and hopefully I'll see you soon!


	15. Milk Bread

Oikawa drifted off a couple of times, not able to sleep fully.

It wasn't too bad since his eyes opened to a sleeping boy in his arms every time, but when he woke once againg to only hear crying, it made his insides mix. 

"Tobio?"

There was no verbal response, in return he only could feel Tobio beginning to sob, hard and shaky tears that filled up the silence of the night.

Tobio sat up on the bed, hands in his lap and head down staring at them.

"I'm sorry."

Oikawa's eyes widened at the sentence. Tobio had already said this once before right? 

"Oikawa-Senpai." he started, voice shaking.

God, he was crying so hard now, he was crying and Oikawa didn't know what to do.

"Tobio, what's wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The boy pulled his head up and Oikawa tried his best to make out his figure, the dim lighting from the lampposts outside filtering through the windows barely showed Tobio's body.

His head only shook no, black hair swaying.

When the boy started choking, gasps escaping his mouth and hands reaching up to pull at his fringe, Oikawa sat up quickly and pulled him back into his arms.  

Luckily, Tobio didn't make any effort to move out of the grasp.

Oikawa could feel something wet drip onto his forearm. He looked down, and his heart tightened at the sight of tears mixed with red slide from Tobio's chin.

The boy was biting his lip so hard that he caused blood to draw.

"I killed her."

It was a hoarse cry that escaped Tobio's mouth, very soft, but definitely distraught. For a second Oikawa froze, not understanding what he meant, but the brunette only hushed in a soothing tone and pulled him closer.

"No, no. You didn't do anything, you did nothing wrong." Oikawa coaxed.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Fuck, this was worse than the gym incident. Tobio was really freaking out and Oikawa couldn't think of a way to fix this, he didn't even know why the hell the boy was so distressed.

Wasn't it only a couple of days ago they were perfectly fine? When they were studying together, watching movies and even cuddling? What happened? 

Tobio continued to sob, but thankfully after a while it eventually fell to heavy breathing.

Somehow during the process of soothing the crying boy, Oikawa managed to bring him back down to bed to a position were he was able to run fingers through the other's dark hair.

It was late, Oikawa knew it, he could feel the weight of the day pulling at his eyes, tugging at his bones and making the bedsheets much more comfortable than he knew they actually were.

He looked over to the clock on his beside table. It was three thirty in the morning. Oikawa was dead tired and had classes in about four hours.

Unconsciously he sighed and rested his face into the head of hair under his chin. Why did the past few days have to be so weird? If he were to be honest, Oikawa felt like he'd been through the wringer the past few weeks.

Interrupting his thoughts, a wiggling occurred and he panicked for a bit, but it was Tobio who moved, turning to face Oikawa.

"Tooru."

That slapped Oikawa in the face, waking him up slightly more.

"Yes, Tobio?"

He tried to keep his voice light, tried to make the other feel reassured.

The boy looked so damn _sad_.

His eyes, even in the dark room were still obviously red from the crying, and they were so wide, so frightened, so worried, so  _sad._

"You have questions."

It was a statement.

He was correct, Oikawa did have questions.

He never pushed though, never wanted to ask more than what was wanted.

"Yes."

It was a simple response, perhaps a bit weak, but it really didn't matter now.

Tobio seemed much more stable now, his voice was strong again though it was quiet and Oikawa could feel he was serious.

Oikawa searched his eyes, tried to find an answer already, searching for a reason to this hectic adventure.

"I'll try my best to explain and you can ask anything after, okay?"

Oikawa nodded in agreement and waited for the boy to talk. 

Tobio leaned forwards, his cheek causing a whisper out of the sheets.

"I am Nine zero Nine." 

Oikawa chuckled slightly and ran his fingers through Kageyama's hair, pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"Yes, I know."

"I'm also Kageyama Tobio."

"I know that too."

Tobio sighed and reached forwards to grasp the back of Oikawa's shirt. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"It's okay, Tobio-"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to tell you in person."

"It's oka-"

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it."

"Tobi-"

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about anything when I came home."

"Tobio Chan-"

"I'm sorry that all I've done is panic and freak out and I'm sorry tha-"

" _Tobio._ "

Oikawa tilted the boy's head up and stared him in the eyes, shutting him up completely.

"Do _not_ apologize, you have _all_ the time in the world to explain yourself and I will _always_ be here to listen to you _no matter wha_ t."

Tobio did nothing but stare at Oikawa, something like admiration and annoyance flashing through his features at the same time. 

"I... Okay." 

"Okay." Oikawa agreed. 

It took a few minutes, but eventually Tobio began to explain everything.

He talked about the day he had found out he was Fox, how he tried to keep it secret that he was Nine, how he was afraid that Oikawa wouldn't like him anymore once he found out, he explained everything quite well and with confidence, everything was quite good until he came to explaining the trip to Miyagi.

It got quite dark there. Oikawa could feel he tension when Tobio mentioned his father, his cruelty, his selfishness. 

The thing that made Oikawa the most tense, was when Tobio talked about his mother. 

He wished that he could convince him that it wasn't his fault.

It wasn't, wasn't it?

No.

It couldn't have been.

Tobio was so damn _kind_ , so _caring_. 

Yes, he _was_ a hell of an annoyance, but even then... During high school, being with Tobio had been some of the best moments of his entire Aoba Johsai career. 

After Tobio had finished his explanations and Oikawa had given reassurance, the blue eyed boy started drifting off, his grip on the back of Oikawa's shirt less tight than it had been while he spoke.

Oikawa watched him slip into sleep, his stress melting away gently, his mouth slightly falling open and breaths grow deep.

Oikawa decided that it would be best if he slept soon too. 

They both needed their energy back.

Tomorrow Oikawa would make Tobio feel better. As a friend, as someone who cared, it was his duty to help Tobio out of this rut. 

He really didn't want to see Tobio in bad shape. If the boy had at one point been worse than this, Oikawa couldn't even imagine the days this boy wanted to _die_.

A shudder raked through Oikawa's body at the thought.

He was so fucking _glad_ Tobio was alive.

Without him.

Maybe it would be _him_ wanting death.

Oikawa didn't want to think about that either. Iwaizumi already made it a point that Oikawa's lifestyle and mentality had been toxic at multiple points in his life.

Life's a bitch that's no lie, but Oikawa also knew that life could lead you to great things.

At the thought the brunette looked back down to the sleeping boy. 

Oikawa bit his lip before shifting to make himself more comfortable.

Tobio looked so peaceful now, and he himself felt much better than he had in ages.

Yeah... They'd get through this. 

 

 

"He was so fucking sad, Hajime."

Oikawa sat with Iwaizumi in a corner booth next to a window at a Starbucks down the street from their school.

A lot of students came here, most of them to themselves, tucked away into a laptop or book, highlighters and pens held high, all working away in their own little world.

Oikawa liked that.

He wanted to get away too, to his own little world.

He missed constantly playing volleyball, he missed being a part of rise and being at the top of the guild, he missed having time to play his guitar, to have time to himself.

Nowadays it seemed all he did was work and worry about Tobio.

Truth be told, he didn't mind worrying about Tobio, he really thought the guy was great, but recently, things felt off.

He wanted to spend time with the younger man, he wanted to finally be able to laugh with one of his best friends and just be happy.

For some reason though, everything seemed to have gone to shit.

Tobio had come home to pain and Oikawa couldn't do a damn thing about it.

He knew he wasn't a part of the boy's home life, if anything, the entire academic years they spent together other than college was made hell by his own personal doing.

"Tooru. It's obvious you care about the guy, and I mean..."

Iwaizumi trailed off, eyes gazing out the window, scanning through nothing in particular.

"If I were him, just knowing that someone was there for me, especially if that someone were  you, would make me feel better."

Iwaizumi sipped on his strong americano casually and didn't dare make eye contact with the smiling brunette.

"Iwa-Chan loves me!?" Oikawa cried, causing a few people to look up for a split second before continuing back into work.

"Shut the hell up, trashykawa."

Iwaizumi pinched his nose before continuing.

"I'm just saying that Kageyama should be okay as long as you continue your support. It's painfully obvious that he cares about you as much as you do him, so I wouldn't worry about trying to satisfy him too much."

Iwaizumi took a breath and slumped back into his chair.

"He seems like someone that needs a bit of care every now and then, but he also seems strong."

Oikawa blushed ever so slightly at the idea of Tobio caring about him and vise versa.

"We're friends now Iwa-Chan, we've  been friends and it just feels like I can't do anything to help him."

Oikawa started pouting. He couldn't help himself, he just felt so useless.

He wanted to be as nice as Tobio had been, as nice when he helped him out, when he was kind even though Oikawa had been a dick.

"Fuck man... Why not date the guy or something."

Oikawa nearly spat out the super sweet, green tea frappuccino he was slurping from.

"Excuse me?!"

Oikawa was practically screeching and could feel heat everywhere.

"You talk about him so much now, don't think I didn't notice that you talked about your internet friend the same way, it's hardly surprising that such person so happens to be the same person."

Oikawa was still blushing, painfully aware of the many times he'd brought up Nine, the amount of conversations he's held with Iwaizumi, frighteningly similar to how one would talk about their crush.

"Oikawa, have you ever considered the fact that perhaps you still have feelings for Kageyama-San?"

Oikawa mentally cursed himself for his terrible control when he got flustered.

"Iwa- Chan, we're  friends, and friends just naturally care about each other!"

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at that.

"We're friends and I know that for a fact you don't make fucking puppy dog eyes at me like you do your housemate." Iwaizumi provoked, literally taking his pointer finger and jabbing it fiercely into him.

Oikawa felt horrible.

He simply wanted to help his friend and just live life, but here he was getting chastised and teased.

Oikawa told himself that he only wanted to help, he didn't want to date the man.

Right?

Right. He didn't want to date Tobio- Nine, whatever.

He just wanted to study with Tobio, to hang out with each other and go out for coffee and maybe sneak in a few cuddles when they watched movies, he wanted to go back to the planetarium, but actually with him and he wanted to hold his hand, he wanted for him to be just with him and only focused on him when they went to Eden and not that pretty little angel with the silver hair.

Fuck.

Oikawa was in deep.

No.

No he wasn't.

Tobio is his housemate, his second in command, his  friend, there's not way he could... like him.

Not like that, not anymore.

 

 

Oikawa opened the door to his apartment slowly.

"Tobio-Chan?"

There was no answer.

After closing the door and kicking off his shoes, waltzed inside the kitchen and living room area, the scent of baked bread swarmed Oikawa's senses entirely.

Tobio was on the couch asleep, one arm slung over his middle, the other hanging off the couch, back of the hand rested against the floor.

Cute.

On the island counter there was a tray of freshly baked milk bread, still semi warm.

Next to the tray, a roll laid already opened, jam smeared across the slices and a small carton of milk besides it.

Oikawa chuckled to himself and then made his way to a closet in the hall; grabbed a toss blanket and put away his coat.

He came back quickly and laid the blanket over the boy.

Right as the material gently rested against the boy's body, eyes snapped opened, and a startling blue and black Oikawa felt like he was falling into shocked him and made him take a step back.

"Tooru."

Tobio held wide deer eyes, slightly shocked and wondering, happy that he was home.

The use of his given name added with the happiness made Oikawa pleased.

"To-Chan." Oikawa responded, casually greeting him.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" He continued.

"I only drifted off a little..."

The younger man looked off to the side awkwardly, a nervous hand subconsciously put behind his neck.

"I uh, I made you some milk bread."

Oikawa smiled fondly and went to the counter, picked up the warm tray, Tobio's milk and took a box out of the fridge for himself as well before making his way back to the couch.

Tobio sat up then, the blanket rolled off of him and crumpled up into his lap.

They sat together silently, each nibbling on the bread.

"It's really good." Oikawa said, mouth full.

Tobio giggled.

"I'm glad you like it, I suck at cooking, but maybe I have a hidden gift for baking?"

"It would go well with your great coffee making skills."

Tobio lit up at that and Oikawa beamed.

He was making Tobio happy, that was good.

"I uh... I know you said not to be sorry-and I'm not! I'm not sorry for being able to trust you and to be able to talk to you, I'm really grateful for that... But i just wanted to make this as a gift to say thank you."

Tobio shifted a little, his socked feet fidgeting. 

"I really appreciate it, To-Chan."

The younger boy flushed ever so slightly and Oikawa felt his chest tighten. 

Tobio really was something.

"Do you wanna watch a movie?" Oikawa offered.  


When the other nodded, Oikawa instantly went over to the T.V to put on a ghibli film.

After Tobio nodded in agreement to the movie, they made themselves comfortable on the couch, Tobio leaned up agaisnt him, using Oikawa's chest as a pillow. 

This was nice, exactly what they needed.

Oikawa had a sudden thought then.

It was something he told himself a lot, but it was true, it kept him going.

_ They'd make it through. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG HIATUS.
> 
> Guys I've been so busy with life that I feel like I'm drowning in it.  
> Thank you all for being so patient and hopefully I get the time to update more soon.  
> Again, this was a ridiculously long time of not uploading a single chapter, but things will pick up. I love u all and I hope to see you in the next chapter!  
> -Ricky
> 
> Talk to me here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rykrae


	16. Greetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is shorter than my usual chapters, but I just really wanted to get something out

It was Thursday evening; Kageyama was doing assignments, drinking a steaming cup of green tea, playing music in the background, and was happy.

He slipped off of the stool he was sitting on, leaving his laptop and papers on the kitchen island to gaze out the window.

It was beautiful outside; still winter, but the hint of spring in the air, the sky in a slightly different colour and the air more crisp and light rather than sharp and numbing.  
Kageyama let out a breath, and the pedestrians that walked below with their coats, cardigans, hats, and scarves turned into blurred blobs of movement across the glass.

When the fog faded, Kageyama saw the scarf of a man whip from a sudden wind and from the shock, he dropped his coffee, the brown liquid staining the sidewalk.  
Kageyama wondered if Oikawa had made that cup, if he had dripped it with care, the thought of slender fingers at work and soft skin moving atop knuckles formed in his mind.

Oikawa would be home soon, he'd be home to cook them a meal and then set up a movie for them to watch, he'd bring Kageyama a cup of coffee and he'd bring the cute little fish bread he somehow managed to get every week.  
Kageyama sighed happily at the thought. He expected this all and he expected a smile with brown warm eyes added along with that, he expected a friendly and teasing tone and long warm arms wrapped around him in a greeting.

What he didn't expect, was the doorbell to ring instead of a key unlocking, and what he didn't expect, were people he hadn't seen in ages, and along with them the company of his best friend.  
When Kageyama pulled open the door wearily, a head of freshly trimmed silver hair and eyes shining a brightly lit copper greeted him first.

"Kageyama."

It was Daichi that spoke first, handing a voice firm and steady as always, but this specific occasion Kageyama noticed a hint of happiness and fondness wrapped around the name. It struck him quite roughly, he hadn't expected a surprise greeting from something so _distinct_.

"Daichi?"

"Kageyama!"

A figure moved quickly before Kageyama could comprehend anything, and suddenly, he was on the floor with a heavy figure atop of him, arms wrapped tightly on his figure. With hair in his mouth and back aching against the cold floor from the sudden impact, the string of words that left his mouth was entirely habit.

"Wha!? Hinata, you dumbass!"

Right as the words entered the air, nostalgia flooded Kageyama's system at once.

"Now, now, that's no way to greet old friends... King."

Tsukishima walked out from behind the growing group of boys in front of Kageyama's door.  
Trailing behind, a floppy head of hair atop a filled freckled face emerged as well.

"I, uh, what?" Kageyama said dumbfounded.

"We just thought we'd pop by. Suga told us where you were staying now, and Hinata and Yamaguchi wouldn't stop bugging him till he took us... Sorry to intrude." Daichi explained.

Once Kageyama was back on his feet, he finally took in the sight of his friends.

It was odd, seeing everyone in one place like this again. Too many emotions wracked his body for him to get an actual comprehension of the situation down, but one thing for sure was that Kageyama was extremely happy with the sight placed in front of him.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally passed the wave of shock that initially hit him and noticed that the entire group outside his door looked extremely anxious.  
They looked like they were waiting, but for what reason, Kageyama didn't kn- oh.

 _Oh_.

Kageyama shifted nervously.  
They didn't really _know_ him did they? Not anymore.  
There was an awkward silence as Kageyama tried to sort the sudden realization.

"I'm..."  
Kageyama had to pause, because without meaning to, his voice suddenly caught in his throat.  
"I'm really glad you guys came."

Kageyama looked down immediately, face hot with how he let himself choke up on emotion, but when he decided to bring his gaze back up he met the eyes of familiar faces light up with joy.

At sight of seeing these people smiling at him, he felt his heart tug in his chest. In all honestly, Kageyama initially said that to be kind, but fuck...

He _really_ meant it.

The last time he saw these guys, he was really messed up.  
He was _rude_ and _selfish_ and ignored them, but yet... here they were, coming to him _still_ and anxious to know his response because they _cared_.

Kageyama couldn't help the first tear that fell, it just sort of happened and he didn't even notice, he couldn't help the second or third either, and when the rest started coming, he didn't care anymore.

He didn't care when he smiled and tasted salt, he didn't care when everyone outside his door rushed in to call his name and press themselves against him, he didn't care as the tears that left his eyes disappeared into the material of multiple shirts of bodies that hugged him, he didn't care that he was acting so emotional because he was just so damn  _happy_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read over my entire story yesterday and it's kind of terrible, lol sorry.  
> I'm glad I've gotten the support I have though and I want you guys to know that I'll definitely amp up the content.  
> Also, thank you for being patient with my updates.  
> Love y'all <3


	17. NOT A CHAPTER (I'M SORRY)

Hey guys... So, I thought this through for a couple of days before deciding, but I'm putting this on hiatus or rather, just not finishing this fic.

 

I'm so so sorry because I know I still have active readers, but It's just so hard for me to get out ideas and chapters for this story for some reason.

 

I'm so thankful that I've actually _inspired_ people to write their own stuff off of this, and I'm so grateful that I've gotten such a good amount of feedback off of this too....

 

I really love these characters and I love writing, but this story is just so unappealing to me now.

 

I'll blame majority on the fact that this is my first fic, but still... I'm sorry.

 

If you guys want more to read, I have and am still writing plenty of other fics on my account. I'm just sorry this one isn't going to be completed (yet?)

 

Thank you so much for everything, I love you all <3


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